Game of Souls
by Rosabell
Summary: After returning to Hong Kong, Syaoran finds himself a misfit in a place he once called home. Burdened by the weight of failed expectations, he tries to readapt. He meets a stranger and a shallow friendship develops, but there is more to this young man than meets the eye, and Syaoran must grasp abilities he never knew he had in order to survive the new world this stranger brings.
1. Chapter One

Game of Souls

Chapter One

Once home, his mother waited in the back while his sisters hugged him, and once they were done, made no move to take her turn. It was something Syaoran half expected, but he could not help but feel disappointed. Li Yelan was a powerful sorceress, a highly-respected member of the clan, and usually made a point of avoiding such cuddling in front of others. As the youngest child of five and the only son, Syaoran ran the risk of being spoiled and incompetent, just as a rule. Yelan had always considered discipline far more important than comfort, and with Syaoran's father gone, his mother had to take the role of both parents, so throughout Syaoran's upbringing she had been the source of intimidation and awe. It was his sisters, especially Fanren, that Syaoran went to if he wanted a mother.

But it had been a year since he came to Hong Kong with Sakura and friends, where the focus had been mainly on Sakura's problem with Madoushi, and two years since he left Hong Kong at all to go to Tomoeda on the quest for Clow Cards. He had kind of hoped she missed him, or would show that she would miss him. The lack of reaction left him feeling lost.

"Your room is as you left it," She told Syaoran, as Fuutie and Fanren heaved the suitcases and laughed at each other's efforts.

"You've grown taller!" Fanren exclaimed with delight, "Though not quite _there _yet." She rubbed his hair, which Syaoran endured without complaint. It felt so unsettling to be home after all this time.

"Come, let's get his things inside, we can measure his height later," Fuutie ordered. Syaoran followed his sisters in, while Yelan rounded up the back.

"Little brother is all grown up," Shiefa remarked.

"Not _all _grown up."

"Well he's grown considerably, that's for sure!"

Syaoran's footsteps slowed. His sisters were chattering like normal, but something about them felt alien and unsettling, like he was seeing them through different eyes and hearing them with different ears. He _had _grown up, that was inevitable, but he did not realize until that he might have changed enough that he no longer knew his family, or that his family no longer knew him. Certainly, his sisters talked with him on the phone all the time, but they had changed too, and he had not been around to witness it. They were comfortable with each other, and he was apart from them, nearly a stranger.

Yelan loomed behind him all of the sudden.

"Feels less familiar than you expected, doesn't it?" She stated, and Syaoran could not read her tone. He shifted, unable to trust himself to answer in a way that would not be incriminating.

"It will pass," She assured him. "That is what family is."

She moved away, and Syaoran walked waveringly to where his sisters dropped off his luggage. Fuutie called out that he could unpack later, that surely he was hungry, and there was porridge in the ricemaker and they made pork and bamboo shoots with mushrooms. He went to the dining area to see a bunch of bowls he had never seen before, new chopsticks, the old tablecloth, but new porcelain vases and figurines lining against the walls, and frames and carved pictures in wood, a new painting, and then Fanren called for him to grab some spoons for everyone, but he had no idea where the spoons were.

It had been difficult to leave Sakura and all of Tomoeda. He had grown comfortable there, found friends cared about him, and though there were those who got on his nerves, like Kero and Touya, they were there for each other, and he knew he could count on both if he needed. Still, he underestimated how unsettling it would be to return to Hong Kong. This was a place he once knew as well as his own flesh and bone. He was not sure if things had changed so much without him, or he had simply forgotten.

He did not think coming home would be like moving to a new, strange place all over again.

* * *

It was surprisingly difficult to fall into routine.

For two years, Syaoran had been the master of his own life. He did not work for money, but he paid the bills and deposited the checks his mother mailed to him. He went to school and bought his own groceries. At home, he made his own decisions about studying and chores and idle time.

Now, he was an occupant under someone else's roof, and it was a grind, getting use to being under not just his mother's authority, but his sisters' as well. None of them seemed to understand that he had been responsible for his own affairs for two years, and all of them, his mother included, felt compelled to order him about and supervise him on everything. It was irritating, it was frustrating, and he felt distinctly alone, because there was no one who could understand his situation in Hong Kong, not that anyone could understand in Tomoeda either.

His cousins also annoyed him with endless questions about Japan. At first, Syaoran did not mind so much. Curiosity seemed reasonable, and it was rare for him to talk about Tomoeda; after all, how would one talk about a place to people who had been there their whole lives? But then the questions kept coming as more cousins were reacquainted, and he got sick of it, especially when they asked about the Clow Cards, who the new master was, and then wearing different permutations of the same expression of judgment and scorn.

School proved to be no real escape. He had studied well in Tomoeda, and Tomoeda elementary was not a bad school. Still, there were discrepancies between the two curriculums that would cause moderate anxiety, and the two intervening years in Japan had students forming cliques that Syaoran found difficulty joining. He had always been something of a loner, but in Tomoeda he had friends like him and he never realized how much he depended on their companionship until he returned to his solitude in China.

But he kept his mouth shut, because the Li clan valued discipline, and keeping one's mouth shut was one of the universal tests for it. Mouth shut, eyes open, mind sharp and ready. Live by the day and maybe, eventually, things will get easier. He had learned the layout of the kitchen again, and all the other areas of the house. Not so much the rest of the clan territories, with the changes in property as they were, but that was not a priority, and Syaoran doubted he ever really knew, even before Tomoeda.

He wondered if he could last however long his mother wanted him here. Back in Tomoeda, it had not seemed so dreadful, but now he wondered, and he wondered how he was to survive pretending he liked living in a place he no longer fit in.

* * *

He liked to spend time in the library on the grounds of doing homework. It was a refuge away from home after school, an excuse to stay out a little later. In time, Syaoran caught up on all the subjects in the Chinese curriculum, so usually he pretended he had a lot of homework to do when in fact he would finish all of them within the first two hours. He would stay in the library for an extra hour or more, looking at books. Sometimes he would see his classmates there, but few said hi to him, and he would not greet those who did not greet him first.

He liked to sit by the window, which gave him a high view of the neighborhood. It faced the north, so the sun did not shine directly through the glass. There was a chair opposite to him, and sometimes people would sit across, classmates who would chatter to each other while ignoring him, much to his annoyance; it was hard to concentrate on his own business when people insisted on talking. Most of the time, however, no one would come, and he had the area to himself. He would keep track of time by the window, noting when the sun was about to set before packing his belongings and going home just before the sky became dark. If he got home too late, his mother would be upset with him, so he tried not to do that.

Fall brought along winter chill, and the air became sharp with the coming frost. One such day, the sky was cloudy and threatened to rain. Syaoran was trying to decide whether he wanted to stay a little longer at the library and risk getting drenched, or if he wanted to go home now, face his family, and avoid getting into trouble. Technically, he could do his homework at home as easily as he could in the library, and Li Yelan knew. She had already started getting discomfited, he saw, and he was not sure how far she was willing to let him go before yanking him back under her hold. He needed to tread carefully, either way. Yelan was not someone to cross.

"You are always sitting here, every weekday," Said a voice, and Syaoran looked up in surprise. A teenage boy, tall and slender, reminding him faintly of Touya. He was younger though, about fifteen, red hair that was getting a bit long around the ears and neck, blue eyes like the sky, face faintly dotted with acne. He wore a genial grin though, friendly like Yukito, but in a much more gregarious fashion. A clear extrovert.

Syaoran shrugged. The boy was familiar; Syaoran had seen him before as well. They had never talked before, until now.

The boy took a seat opposite Syaoran. "I'm Yang Le." He held out a hand.

There was no reason for Syaoran to refuse. He took the hand. "I'm Li Syaoran."

Yang's eyes glinted, but maybe it was because of the light. "Nice. I kind of always wanted to drop by and say hi. Feels great to do so now."

Syaoran had no idea what to say to that. Hong Kong was nowhere as safe as Tomoeda, yet another thing he had to get use to, and even though Le was young, strangers did not just walk up to each other to say hi around here.

Yang pointed a thumb at the window. "Looks like it'll rain soon. Got an umbrella?"

"No," Syaoran made a face, "I was just thinking about that, and considering what to do."

"Hm. Well, maybe it won't rain before you get home."

"Maybe."

He felt distinctly uneasy, and wished Yang would leave now. Unfortunately, the teen settled in, but he did appear to have his own business to conduct, taking out books and paper from his backpack and focusing on that instead of talking.

Syaoran stayed for about fifteen minutes before opting to leave.

"Beating the rain?" Yang asked, as he packed up.

"I figured better safe than sorry."

"Always a good attitude to have. Safe trip home," Yang smiled briefly before glancing back down on his own assignments.

"Thanks," Syaoran said awkwardly, and when he received no further acknowledgment, turned to leave.

* * *

The next afternoon was a Friday, but Yang joined Syaoran nearly minutes after he sat down.

"Aw, Friday too? You're such a hard-working student," The teen exclaimed as he plopped down across from Syaoran.

"You're here as well," Syaoran pointed out.

"I'm in high school. What are you in, sixth grade?"

Syaoran chose not to answer.

"Did you beat the rain yesterday?"

"…Yes."

"Good." It had poured heavily almost as soon as Syaoran arrived home. He would not count that as enough of a coincidence to set his senses on alert, but the point had bothered him.

"What about you?" He asked Yang.

"Ack, not so lucky, but I did have an umbrella."

"Oh."

They then turned to their respective assignments. Syaoran found it difficult to focus on his own, and it was a while before he started absorbing the content and the instructions. At least Yang was not a talker when he worked, and after a while Syaoran relaxed enough that he nearly forgot Yang was even there.

After two hours, Syaoran was done. He put his things away, but got up to look for books. There had been one book he was reading two days before, some text about the human brain. He had not gotten to it the previous day because of Yang, but now he felt comfortable continuing it. Yang was engrossed in his work when he retrieved it from the shelf, but when Syaoran looked up half an hour later, the teen was staring at the book cover like he had never seen one of those before.

"That's some heavy reading material you've got there, kid."

Syaoran looked at the cover, which featured a cartoon brain and a cross-section. He shrugged. "I find it interesting."

"Want to be a brain surgeon when you grow up?"

"Not necessarily, just find it interesting, that's all."

"What _do _you want to be when you grow up?"

Syaoran use to know. He wanted to be a Card Master, and have the same kind of life his mother did, presiding over the clan and magical community. That dream had been crushed in a single night. He had not given much thought to what should replace it.

"Not sure."

"It's early," Yang assured him, "You have time. I kept changing my mind. Use to want to be a pop star. Then I wanted to be an architect. _Then _I wanted to be a zoologist. Eh, still have two years before going to college, and college is a _long _way away for _you_, buddy."

Syaoran tried to smile, but he had never been much of a smiler. He settled for opening his book again, silently ending the conversation. Luckily, Yang took the hint, or had the same idea. Either way, silence fell again for another half an hour, and when Syaoran packed up to leave, they exchanged no more than two words for goodbye.

* * *

Yang Le became a new constant in his life.

On weekends, Syaoran had vigorous training with private tutors alongside his sisters and cousins. On weekdays, however, he would go to school, he would go through the motions, and then he would head to the library and sit by the window. In the past, sometimes he would arrive a little later than usual because classes went overtime, and someone else might take his spot. With Yang around, however, Syaoran was pretty assured of his seat, and they started making a point of saving each other's places depending on who got there first.

In terms of table partners, Yang was pleasant. Despite the initial smalltalk, which even Syaoran had to admit was mild, he felt no need to fill silences, which suited Syaoran just fine. They never asked any questions that were too personal, but eventually Yang felt comfortable inquiring after Syaoran's strange solitude, and Syaoran also learned a little about Yang.

Like Syaoran, Yang was the youngest sibling, but he had two older brothers. One was in his mid-twenties, the other was eighteen, Touya's age. The second brother was studying abroad, somewhere in France, and the eldest had some kind of job that earned the family a lot of money.

He never mentioned parents, which Syaoran found to be a little odd. Unlike Syaoran, Yang did have friends, but for some reason he never chose to hang out with them after school. He seemed to be the genuinely cheerful sort, but not annoyingly so, and occasionally his stories about his friends' exploits coaxed a laugh or two out of Syaoran.

In return, Syaoran was equally tight-lipped about certain parts of his life. He never revealed anything about the Li clan, but he did talk a little bit about Japan, about Yamazaki's wild stories, Yukito's love of food, his own autonomy while abroad. He avoided talking about Sakura, never mentioned Tomoeda by name, and avoided mentioning any event that had to do with Clow or Sakura cards. As time went on, he began to confide in Yang how out of place he felt now, how much more at home he felt in Japan, when he had been more in control of his life.

"I can't believe your family let you go there by yourself," Yang shook his head, "I mean, that's almost neglectful. Why would you go there by yourself?"

It was difficult to explain with magic out of the picture. Syaoran ended up revealing that it was a family matter, one that he had to take care of. This seemed to inspire incredulity in his audience, but thankfully Yang did not push. It was nice to have someone know which boundaries not to cross, and Yang respectfully maintained his distance from all that Syaoran could ask of him and more. Though Yang seemed more open about his side of things, Syaoran tried to return the favor, so they both ended up knowing only just enough to wonder about the other person.

Still, there was value in this kind of friend, Syaoran felt. Social skills were never his strong point, and this kind of meaningless companionship, where neither side expected anything, was a comfort by itself. Yang knew nothing important about him, so Syaoran could tell him some of the things he held closest to his heart, such as how scared he was of his mother, how he sometimes felt he could never compare to his sisters, how Sakura mastered a "hobby" he had trained for all his life in just one year, how he really cared about Sakura and was afraid she might find someone else while he was away, wondering if people in Japan would even remember him, wondering if he even wanted to go back to Japan when in just two years he already felt out of place in Hong Kong…

Wondering just what his purpose was.

Yang said all the things Syaoran expected him to say: _You're still so young, maybe _you'll_ find someone else, she's worried about the same thing, of course people in Japan would rememb__er you_, and it was a relief to talk to a stranger because he knew none of these insecurities would be shared with anyone that mattered. No one knew Yang. No one could judge him based on what Yang knew.

Syaoran could be a totally different person, and no one else ever had to know.

* * *

"Oh no."

It was a Friday in November. Syaoran was still struggling with how early the sun set, but today proved even worse, because a storm came out of nowhere. Heavy rain splattered against the windows like tiny missiles, drumming so loudly that the rest of the occupants of the library were murmuring and pointing outside. In the span of five minutes, the sky went from daylight to almost pitch black.

Yang muttered a curse under his breath. "I had no idea it was supposed to rain today!"

"No one said it was going to rain," Syaoran's brow furrowed. In Tomoeda, he would have suspected magical mischief, but with the Li clan in residence, Hong Kong tended to be on its best behavior in that regard. _Mother is going to kill me._ She already did not like how Syaoran kept going to the library instead of straight home. He hoped she would not see this as a reason to bar him in the future.

"Well, storms that come suddenly also stop really quickly, maybe it will go away soon," Yang pointed out.

But the sudden downpour only eased into moderate rain, still too heavy to brave without getting entirely soaked through, and by that time the sun had well and truly set. Syaoran wondered if he should call one of his sisters to pick him up. He did not want to inconvenience anyone, but in this case he probably had no choice. On the other side, Yang was already taking out his phone.

"Eldest Brother's getting home around now, maybe he can pick me up, because these books are not going to survive the walk home," Yang grimaced at his backpack, which was little more than a duffel bag. "Should have gotten a real bookbag. What are _you _going to do?"

"I don't know," Syaoran was worried. His mother was already going to reprimand him for being home late.

"My brother can drive you home," Yang offered, "If your folks can't pick you up."

He did not want Yang coming near the actual clan territories—that would give away his identity all too easily. Besides, his mother would kill him if he went in someone else's car. "That's alright. I think I'll call my mother." _Hopefully she would not be upset about me being so late. _He had been waiting out a storm, after all.

Li Yelan was not impressed.

_"This is why you should come directly home," _She said unhappily, _"Instead of fooling around at the library. Even if you need books from the library, there's no reason you can't borrow them and come home directly after. Fooling around for hours every day…one wonders what you were up to, all this time."_

That irritated Syaoran to no end. Li Yelan had been fine with Syaoran 'fooling around' in another country for two years, with nothing more than a few phone calls to check on him, but now that Syaoran was in Hong Kong, all of the sudden she wondered 'what he was up to' at a public library, a perfectly reasonable place for any student to go study at. He held his tongue, however, because it would not do to talk back to one's elders, and he needed to be in her good graces if he wanted to garner a ride home through the rain without severe scolding afterwards.

_"Anyway, I'll have Fuutie drive by the library to pick you up. She should be there in about half an hour. Be ready."_

"Yes, Mother."

Yang completed his phone call before Syaoran finished his.

"Eldest will be here soon," He told Syaoran, "You'll be alright, kid?"

Still upset about his mother, Syaoran snapped, "I'm not a kid. I took care of myself in Japan. Why don't people get that?"

Taken aback for a moment, Yang blinked. "Well. I guess your ma had a few things to say about today. What's her problem anyway? These sort of things happen. It's not like you can predict the weather if not even the weatherman could."

"Right, well," Syaoran checked the time, and in his frustration he articulated words before he even understood them, "Sometimes I wonder if she's just disappointed in _me _in _general_, not just for any particular issue."

He had failed in enough matters to warrant that disappointment, anyway. He did not inherit his mother's powerful magical abilities, despite being her only son. He could not capture the Clow Cards to make up for that slack, and to make things worse, was defeated by a girl who had one year to get her act together. Li Yelan did seem genuinely fond of Sakura, but that did not mean she was not simultaneously crestfallen by her son. It was something Syaoran had often considered, but never dared confront his mother about, and either Yelan was oblivious, or she perceived his worry and chose not to address it.

"That's ridiculous," Yang protested, "You're such a hard-working kid—boy—uh, person. What kind of mother wouldn't be sickeningly proud of you? For crying out loud, I've seen that folder of yours and the tests you bring home. You're here every Friday when other kids are out playing. I'd even go as far as claim that you need to _play _a little more. If she's disappointed in you, that's her problem, not yours."

It was kind of him to say, but Yang could not understand. He did not know about magic, and Syaoran had never revealed this side of himself to the teen. How could he expect the older boy to realize that Yelan _did _have a valid reason to be disappointed?

He wrestled with anxiety all the way until Yang's brother came, clad in a sweeping and thick trenchcoat. Taller than Yang, broader, with hair that was a darker shade of red and eyes that were grayer, he made for an intimidating figure, and his features were also much less friendly. Seeing the two brothers reminded Syaoran a little of the contrast between Yukito and Yue. Yukito had a softness to him that Yang lacked; Yang was more forward and open and blunt. His brother, however, emitted the same kind of tough coldness that the moon guardian did, though this did not seem to dissuade the younger man.

"Thanks, that storm came out of nowhere."

"I know," The elder brother glared out the window. "The flash flood caused a great deal of traffic. Let's hope the trip home does not take long." He turned to look at Syaoran, and the young boy felt a shivering cold rake down his spine.

"This is Li Syaoran," Said Yang, before turning to introduce his brother, "This is my eldest brother, Yang Heben."

Yang Heben's eyes narrowed as he studied Syaoran. "Li Syaoran?"

Syaoran met his gaze defiantly. No matter how tough Heben was, he was no match for Yelan. He did not reply to the elder Yang's inquiry. He was not even sure what he had been asking.

"Smartest kid his age," Yang Le laughed. "Person, I mean. He has a ride home, his folks are picking him up."

"I see."

Something tugged at Syaoran's aura, a feeling so subtle he could not decide if he imagined it or not.

"Well, let's go?" Yang Le waved at Syaoran. "Hope your folks come soon. Eldest mentioned traffic, maybe they're stuck, so don't worry too much if they're late. Do you want my number? Give me a call if you need anything."

"I'll be fine." Syaoran could not imagine why he would call Yang Le when his sister was clearly on her way. "Drive safe."

"Thanks! See you on Monday!"

In the past, Yang sometimes left before Syaoran, but if Syaoran stayed it was usually by his preference. This time, watching the two brothers depart, Syaoran felt strangely bereft, as if he were being abandoned and deserted. Which was silly, considering he knew Fuutie was coming soon, but considering what he might face at home…

He sat down to wait for his sister and tried not to dwell on Yelan.

* * *

"You've never told me about this child," Heben said as soon as the two brothers got into their car. Rain had covered the windshield completely, forming a blurry surface all on its own.

"He's just a little sorcerer," Le shrugged as he put on his seatbelt. "Mother's a shrew though."

"He's not just a sorcerer," Heben frowned, "Though I'm not surprised you didn't know."

"What?"

"He's one of us," Heben turned the ignition.

There was a potent silence as the elder Yang backed the car out of the parking space.

"What!" Le exclaimed, "But that kid's magic is…I mean, he's a little above average, but a—no way!"

"Given what you know of the Li clan, you really think they would give him the opportunity to dapple in soul arts?" Heben pointed out. "Yang magic is all about elements. That's what Clow Reed's magic was all about too. Yin magic was always dubbed black magic and everyone was to shy away from it. I wouldn't be surprised if that child has never even _heard _of soul arts, and if his talent is in _that_, of _course _his magic is stunted. He never had a chance to break through."

Le was speechless for a moment. "That's—this is crazy! That—"

Heben casually turned the car into the street to join the traffic.

"Well what are we going to do?" The younger Yang asked.

"What _is _there to do?" Heben pointed out. "He's not our responsibility. He has a family, and even if they are ignorant, that is his lot in life."

"But that's not _fair_, they're _stifling _him—"

"Still his lot in life," Heben warned, "You know we should not interfere in other people's destinies. Li Syaoran's destiny will reveal itself in time. If he is destined to join our ranks, we will know sooner or later. If not, we will not intervene, because it is none of our business."

"That's still not fair," His brother pouted a little.

Heben turned on the blinkers. "Life is not fair," He reminded his brother. "So you are to keep quiet. Am I understood?"

Le sighed, but Heben saw him nod.

"Good," Said Heben. "Now let's hope _this _highway did not flood as well."


	2. Chapter Two

Game of Souls

Chapter Two

The Li clan was well-known in the magical community. A powerful family of sorcerers, with both a great collection of magical artifacts and extensive knowledge of the mystical arts, it would be difficult not to recognize the influence they wielded. They were known to keep mostly to themselves, however, and rarely intervened on matters that did not directly affect them. A sensible bunch, dangerous if crossed, but not unreasonable to deal with, as it were. With a name like Li, one of the most common surnames, they blended into the rest of the land effectively enough, and it was possible for sorcerers to pass through Hong Kong without coming across one of them at all.

The necromancers, as other sorcerers tended to call them, had worried about the Li clan's reaction when they first came to Hong Kong about a year ago. Their magic did not actually involve the dead, but they were unsettling in other ways, and the clan would not hesitate to get rid of them. So the Yang brothers kept low, keeping watch on the Li clan, refraining from using magic to avoid detection. It was just as well, for the soul arts had far-reaching consequences for the castor and the subject, and necromancers were inclined to refrain from utilizing them anyway. If the Li clan ever suspected their presence, they showed no sign of it.

Considering Li Syaoran's constant presence at the library, Le rather doubted the clan was even aware.

"How does a runt from the _Li _clan wind up being one of us?" He exclaimed, too eager to rant to pay much attention to the mug of hot chocolate between his hands.

"The same way any of us are what we are."

"But the Li clan is as Yang as they come."

Heben arched an eyebrow.

"What if they find out?"

The elder Yang leaned against the counter. "I doubt they will. There is no chance for him to break through. If he never breaks through, they would never know."

"But what if he _does _break through somehow?" Le pushed the mug away. "You don't have to have another show you in order to break through."

"He went through some ordeal in Japan involving a deck of magical cards, which from what I heard, caused a lot of ruckus. If he hadn't broken through for _that_, I think he's pretty safe."

"The Clow Cards are _soft_," Le grimaced, "The damage they cause is the equivalent of a toddler spilling milk all over the place. Hardly worthy of a breakthrough."

"He went to a foreign country by himself for two years."

"Honestly? That's probably less of an ordeal, given where he's coming from."

Neither brother was surprised by the idea of Li Yelan being a tough mother. She was that famous descendant of Clow Reed, and while Clow Reed had quite a few direct descendants, Li Yelan probably topped all of them in terms of authority and breeding. She was a good woman, it was known; compassionate and wise, if a bit intimidating to approach, and it was mostly her presence that influenced the Li clan into being as reclusive and unobtrusive as they were. Those who sought the help of Li Yelan were rarely turned away, provided their reasons were noble and true. She was a good ally, a good friend, but she also looked like she would be strict and difficult to live with. A woman of such solid principles, who adhered to such a strict code of conduct, would doubtless be ruthlessly inflexible with her children.

"He's a great kid," Le sighed, "What's he, eleven years old? He said he's in sixth grade now so…six, seven, eight, nine in fourth grade, eleven. But he's so quiet, and he reads these crazy books, like Applied Combinatorics, whatever _that _is, and this biography of Emperor Taizong. I swear he's a child prodigy."

"Combinatorics?" Heben's disbelief penetrated his tone. "Does he even understand what he's reading? How is he still in sixth grade if he's reading things like that?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's not allowed to race ahead. Common schooling is necessary but not a priority for the Li clan. If all of his attentions were on school, he wouldn't be able to work on his 'hobbies'. The point is, though, he's a great kid, very mature, not much of a talker and a bit socially awkward but…he's a great kid, and with a mother like that, I'm not sure the Li clan wouldn't just disown him if he had a breakthrough."

Le was actually afraid the Li clan might do worse. The world was becoming more enlightened as time passed, but necromancy was a bit much. Even if other sorcerers knew what it really was, he doubted they would be comforted.

"If he has a breakthrough, and the clan proves less than accommodating," His brother said after a moment, "There is no reason we should not intervene to protect our own. However, we do not even know if he would ever have a breakthrough, so I recommend you stay put. If you must go to the library to be with this child, remember to be discreet. Until he does break through, he is a regular Yang sorcerer, and is not our friend."

Le was only interested in the first part of his brother's answer. "Will do, Captain. He doesn't even know I have magic, still tries to explain away Japan as a 'family issue'. I guess he wasn't really lying, given Clow Reed _was _his ancestor and all, but the poor kid," He allowed himself a laugh, "Man, if I didn't know what was up, I'd…I actually don't know any likely alternative reasons for sending a nine-year-old out of the country all by himself. Except maybe to kill him."

Disinterested, Heben left Le to enjoy his hot chocolate in the kitchen.

* * *

True to form, Yelan wanted Syaoran home directly after school from now on. He could go to the library to take out books if he really needed to, but he was not to study there.

"This was just one time," Syaoran protested, for the first time daring to talk back to his mother, "I've been in school for _months _and I've always gotten home just fine. It's just the weather caught us by surprise. Next time I'll carry an umbrella. I'll carry one every day, so I won't have to bother Eldest."

Yelan's eyes grew sharp. "Why do you want to stay at the library so much? Is it someone there? What kind of people have you been with, Xiaolang?"

Syaoran resisted the urge to sigh in frustration. "I'm just use to studying there now."

"Of course you are," His mother frowned, "You were studying there for a while, but sometimes circumstances change and you must learn to adapt. Surely you learned this, having adapted to another country."

_Right, well why can't you see that I have adapted enough to know how to determine my own life?_

"This is not up for discussion. I want you home as soon as possible after school, not fooling around with the other children for hours. They are not like you. They have no magic. They only see part of the world that you must live in."

"But—"

His mother's aura grew dark. "You have grown insolent in your time away, my son."

_I've been home for _months. Why would his mother blame his reaction on _Japan? And you _sent _me there._ It was not like Syaoran had begged to go to Japan all by himself. Once the Clow Cards were released, the clan had assembled to make arrangements for him. Syaoran never had much say.

"Have you finished your assignments for the day?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Alright." Yelan looked at him for a moment. "I know all of this is frustrating for you. You are young. There are things you cannot possibly consider at your age."

_Like how to live on my own. Like how to fail a legacy in one night. Like how to fall in love and have something important to me that _isn't _in the clan._

"Go." His mother's voice was softer now.

Syaoran left hesitantly, but not because he wanted to stay. He felt a deep fatigue, as if it had taken all of his strength just to bear his mother's verdict.

As he left, he suddenly felt a well of self-loathing, and loathing for this family and how they had raised him; he thought of Sakura and her easy happiness with her father, Yamazaki and his casual security with his mother, the way the children would get together to _play_, rather than train, and were allowed to throw a fit once in a while just to get the restlessness out of their systems without being reprimanded. What good did his upbringing every do? It only made him unlikeable, which required two years in Tomoeda to smooth even a little. He was socially awkward, reliant on the generosity of others to form friendships. He trained all his life for something that was already predetermined for someone else. Granted, 'all his life' was quite short, but what did he have left now that everything had been wiped to begin from scratch? He had no charisma, he had no talents that brought him joy, and the only friends he had were a thousand miles away, and they hardly needed him as much as he needed them. He was frankly surprised Sakura cared enough about him to make him that stuffed teddy bear. If Eriol were not actually a much older sorcerer, he probably _was _a better fit for Sakura. Why should Sakura suffer to be with someone so ill-equipped as Syaoran, magically and socially inferior? And it was all because the Li clan had traditions, and his mother was the fancy descendant of Clow Reed and everyone had to listen to her or else. Even if she was stifling Syaoran.

Her priority was to ensure Syaoran was competent, and yet everything she did was keeping Syaoran from fulfilling his potential.

Perhaps Syaoran never had much potential to begin with.

* * *

_Dear Sakura…_

He never knew what to say in his letters to Sakura. She always seemed so cheerful, despite claiming she missed him. She would relate how everyone said hi, the various escapades involving her friends, the evolving relationship between Yue and Touya, and Tomoyo's fashion designs. She never failed to lift his spirits in person, and her letters always eased his loneliness, at least for a while, but while he adored Sakura, she was never quite the person he felt comfortable confiding in.

He had no doubt she would understand; there was no one Syaoran knew who was more compassionate than Sakura, but he never knew how to start, how to tell this dear friend, this special person who was so happy and so carefree and clearly expected him to be the same, that he was actually miserable now, that he felt completely inadequate, that he wished he were a different person, had a different family with a different upbringing, and it seemed like no matter what he did or what he chose, the future held no joy for him. Writing such things felt abhorrent, besides. It made him sound like he was one of those depressed people, which he most definitely was not, and no one liked whiners. Writing would be _whining_, really, and he was already doing that with Yang Le…or he had been, anyway. With library privileges taken away, he supposed he really could start practicing keeping his problems to himself.

_Dear Sakura…_

Yet if he did not talk about any of this, what was there to talk about? There was nothing exciting in his life. He had no real friends. He had mentioned a little bit about Yang Le before, but he knew so little about the teen, and Sakura had mustered only mild enthusiasm for this complete stranger who, from her perspective, did not play a significant role in Syaoran's life. Without knowing Syaoran's unhappiness, she could not possibly perceive how Syaoran depended on Yang for support. To her, he was just some library study buddy.

_Dear Sakura:_

_Glad to hear you are doing well. Tell the others I said hi. Nothing really new in Hong Kong, just going by the day._

_I miss all of you too._

_Syaoran_

* * *

It was two weeks later before Syaoran went back to the library in order to check out books and head straight home, as his mother ordered. Before he left, however, he went to the window, wondering if Yang was still keeping vigil at that seat.

A couple of teenagers were sitting there, but neither of them were Yang. A boy and a girl, leaning over toward each other, both with grins on their faces while staring into each other's eyes. Yang was nowhere to be seen.

Heart sinking a little, Syaoran turned away. Obviously, another stage in his life was over.

* * *

Winter in Hong Kong was never cold enough to snow, but it could still get cold, and Syaoran shivered in his sweater as he made his way home from school. The sun was bright, casting the world in a golden glow. There were birds on the street, pecking at scattered crumbs someone had dropped. They chattered amongst themselves, some fighting, feathered wings beating in a frenzy as they asserted their stations.

He paused to watch them for a while, studying the dynamics between the creatures. The sight was soothing somehow, for all the excitement of the subjects themselves, and he stared and stared and stared…

He should get going. He had work to do. His mother would expect him home by a certain time, even given the time to go to the library. He could watch birds at any time; they were not uncommon, after all, and really, they might interest a four-year-old, but he had seen them so many times before, they were hardly a curiosity now. There was no reason for him to be so intrigued.

He still ended up staring for a while longer. Syaoran had no idea birds could be so hypnotizing.

_Why should I go home so early anyway?_

Suddenly, Yelan's wrath seemed minor. It was the first time Syaoran thought of his mother and decided he did not care if she became angry with him. He could face the consequences when they came. People adapt. He wanted to enjoy the day, even if it was by himself. In Tomoeda, he would have stayed out in this weather, perhaps done some reading in the park, or gone with Sakura's friends to the mall, bought ice cream or hot chocolate if it was too cold, looked through various shops and just talked. He could not remember the things they talked about anymore; it all seemed very trivial, but it created such a sense of bonding.

Yes, he would do that. He would face his mother later. She was never _pleased_, ever, so he might as well delay facing that displeasure. A little displeased, very displeased, what difference did it make? Yang's words returned to him; _"…you need to _play _a little more…"_ and while Syaoran did not know how to play, did not have friends to play with, he could enjoy the day somehow. He always finished his homework early anyway, and of course, training would have to be postponed, probably canceled, because of this stunt, but one day would not hurt.

Not in the way that would matter to him.

* * *

The market was filled with people. They had cleaned up the place a little, but some areas still smelled potently of fish, and there were areas with live chickens being slaughtered. Syaoran waded with the current of bodies, looking around for something interesting to look at. Most of the stores were stocked with food, roasted ducks hanging by their necks at the window, but there were some arts and crafts stores, and other stores with little figurines.

Along the way, his phone rang. Syaoran glanced at it, noting it was from his mother.

He pressed the end-call button and turned the phone off.

There was an old bookstore, and having spent so much time in a library, Syaoran could not help but feel drawn to the familiar shelves. He went inside and breathed a sigh of relief at the relative warmth. _Heat is a good thing._

The place was a bit cramped, and though the room was furnished well and kept in good condition, there was a subtle age to the place, which was strangely comforting. Syaoran passed the shelves littered with cookbooks and other how-to's in favor of the volumes toward the back. There were some Japanese manga, and he glanced briefly at those, feeling a flare of nostalgia for Tomoeda, before looking away.

Romance novels, a few translations of Western literature, autobiographies…nothing he could not get at a library.

He turned and nearly walked straight into someone.

This man was taller than Touya, and _bigger_. He was white, with blonde hair and high cheekbones. Syaoran managed an apology, but then felt something touch his aura. He started, adrenaline washing out the floating mood he was in.

The man's eyes narrowed. Syaoran drew back, fists tightening, ready to defend himself—

The world abruptly greyed out around them.

"Well well," The man drawled, "This is unexpected."

Syaoran looked around in alarm. The other people in the bookstore were frozen, as if time were standing still…except this was not like the Time Card. The grey tint to everything seemed like a filter of some sort, as if they were seeing their surroundings through a fog.

_What spell is this?_

"What's a little cub like you doing out all alone?" The man inquired, a harsh light in his eyes.

_Hong Kong is not as safe as Tomoeda._ Syaoran grimaced. "What makes you think I am alone?"

"Spare me the attempts, child. You cannot fool me." The man approached, and Syaoran pulled on his magic—only to find it _stuck_, as if caught on something. He backed away in panic.

"Don't come any closer!"

The man ignored him. "You have not broken through. Interesting!" He made a motion with his hand, and suddenly something exploded from Syaoran—a web of lights, like glowing silk threads, each a different shade of green, woven in numerous patterns.

"I think I'll take you before someone else does," The man reached out, and when Syaoran tried to draw back, he found he was frozen, immobile.

"Hey!" A familiar voice yelled, and the world suddenly rippled back to color and the green lights winked out of man whipped his head around, startled.

Yang Le folded his arms behind the man. His face was cold, in a way Syaoran had never seen.

There was a moment of silence.

"_Yang-sinsaang,_" The man inclined his head.

"Mister Landon," Yang replied in English, "I had no idea you were in town."

"Ah, here on business, as it were. You are well, I trust?"

Yang's smile was the most unpleasant Syaoran had ever seen.

"As are you, I see."

He then looked at Syaoran and switched to Cantonese. "Hey kid, I finished looking around, we should probably head out before my brother comes looking for us."

Knowing an escape route was at hand, Syaoran nodded quickly.

"Want to head out so Eldest doesn't freak out? I'll join you later."

He nodded again, slipping away immediately. The cold blasted him as he opened the door, and he stepped out, looking for Heben. The elder Yang was nowhere to be seen, however.

Yang Le emerged moments later. "Come on," He told Syaoran.

Syaoran followed.

* * *

"Haven't seen you around for a while."

Syaoran had no money on him, so Yang had to pay for both of their hot chocolates. The two of them sat by the wall, away from the window, while the café music played in the background. Heben, as it turned out, was nowhere near the market; Yang Le had just been bluffing to ensure Landon behaved himself.

Syaoran stared into his cup, too anxious to drink it. For the first time, chocolate tasted like cardboard.

"You have magic," He said suddenly.

He had no idea what had happened. He had no idea what kind of magic it was, but he knew it was magic because it certainly was not anything _natural,_ and Yang had broken through when everyone else in the bookstore had frozen. The two also seemed to know each other, and whatever that man tried to do to Syaoran, he did not appear to have attempted on Yang.

"So do you," Said Yang, sipping from his own cup with pronounced carelessness.

Syaoran thought quickly about how to respond.

"What do you mean?" He opted to ask.

"Li clan, going to Tomoeda for the Clow Card fiasco," Yang leaned back, "Good effort if I didn't already know, but I always knew. Perks of having magic, you know. People who have magic are occasionally aware of other people having magic."

Unsettled, Syaoran glared. "I never sensed any magic from you."

"You didn't sense any from Landon either." Yang took another sip. "Thing about different types of magic. Sometimes you don't sense a certain kind."

Syaoran looked away, feeling strangely betrayed.

"Look, I'm sorry," Yang leaned forward at this, "I wasn't keeping things from you just for chuckles, alright? There are different layers to things. You keep magic away from non-magical folk, we keep our magic away from your type of folk. It's not great but there's not much we can do about it."

"What kind of magic?" Syaoran demanded.

Yang looked reluctant to divulge. "Yin magic."

Syaoran felt like the world greyed out again. He did not know much about Yin magic, other than that it was rare and powerful and…_evil_.

"Look, kid," Yang began, but Syaoran's aura was already flaring in response to his terror. He cringed back in his seat; he would have dashed to the door, but even with the panic clamping on his mind, he knew that would do little good.

Yang swore. "Look look look look look—just—just calm down around? Let me explain. Look, we're in a café, nothing's going on, you and I have sat across from each other for _months_—come _on _man!"

He was right; Yang had plenty of opportunities to do what Landon did, but that did not mean Syaoran was ready to relax and trust him.

"You're a necromancer."

"_God_, that's _so _not—that's a _terrible _name and it doesn't even describe us right. We don't fiddle around with dead people and corpses, alright? The correct term is _soul arts_…and…alright I guess that's pretty scary too, but seriously! What do you think premonitions are? That's like baby soul arts, and you Yang sorcerers are totally fine with that!"

Syaoran had no idea what he was talking about and he had no interest in learning. Standing up, he pushed the chocolate aside.

"Thanks for your help," He said quietly, "I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"Get real. If you walk out there by yourself, he's just going to come after you again."

Syaoran froze.

Yang sighed. "Sit down. You're part of this whether you like it or not. You're not going to like it."

"I _already _don't like it," But Syaoran sat down. "Why did Landon attack me? Was it because I am a Yang sorcerer?"

Yang snorted. "We don't really care about Yang sorcerers. Well, the bad ones do care, and Landon's not a good one, but that's not the reason—you—oh man," He paused, "This is not going to be pretty."

"Get to the point." Syaoran was nervous enough as it was.

"He's after you because of _you._"

"Son of Li Yelan of the Li clan?"

"No. No one cares about the Li clan or Li Yelan. Well, I guess that's not true, but they matter less to our kind than to your kind—well I guess they're not really your kind." Yang frowned. "He's after you because you're one of us too, but you haven't broken through to your true powers."

_'You have not broken through. Interesting!'_

"That makes no sense." It made so little sense, Syaoran could not even react. This was too ludicrous. "My clan are all Yang sorcerers. How am I one of you?"

"Yin magic is just like Yang magic. Once in a while, it pops up sporadically. Trust me, you blew my mind too, when Eldest told me what you were. I didn't know at first, you know. That wasn't the why I came over to your seat." Yang scowled. "I thought you were a regular Yang sorcerer."

"Why _did _you come over?"

"I—" Yang blinked. "I mean, you were this weird kid, you came every day and you stay for hours, and you sit by yourself and you don't talk to anyone. I thought you were really weird."

"You came over because you thought I was weird."

"In a good way! I mean, I saw you and I instantly liked you." A pause. "Alright, it's not as creepy as I just made it sound. But I sensed we had a _yuanfen—_that our destinies are meant to cross somehow. That's not a pure Yin thing, even non-magical folk get it."

Syaoran did not know what to say.

"Anyway, that's not the point. The point is you're a Yin sorcerer that hasn't broken through, and normally that's fine, but with Landon around…I don't even know what he's doing here—what _business?_ But he's a bad sort, and maybe that's why the two of us met, because there's nothing like a Yin practitioner who hasn't broken through. You have potential, but you have _no _defense. That's perfect for him to link your fate to him."

"What do you mean?" Syaoran asked, dread curling in his gut.

"Soul arts," Yang hesitated, "It's not necromancy the way you probably understand it. We don't deal with dead people and ghosts. Those don't really matter to us. We do deal with fate, however. We manipulate people's destinies. Soul arts are all about directing and modifying the path that soul is supposed to take in a lifetime, so in the real world it translates into setting people's futures. That's why premonitions are actually a Yin art. Can't really manipulate a future you can't see. You need to break through, first, though. I mean, usually we all have a little bit of Yang magic—quite a bit of Yang magic, actually, just like Yang sorcerers can have premonitions, and Yang magic is the surface level and usually suffices for things, you know? It gets things done, and you never need to reach deeper for the Yin magic, so it just lies dormant indefinitely. You need to be either shown how to break through, or you need to be forced into breaking through—under extreme duress, or the like. Until then, you're just a regular Yang sorcerer, and you're as vulnerable as any other Yang sorcerer or non-sorcerer to Yin magic. There are levels, you see. Non-sorcerers are vulnerable to Yang magic, Yang sorcerers are vulnerable to Yin magic, and if you want to resist Yin magic you need to know how to use it first, but you need to break through in order to do that."

Syaoran was quiet for a time, absorbing all of this—or trying to.

"I still don't understand why he attacked me."

"You know how to force a Yin sorcerer to slavery?" Yang's voice was low. "You catch him before he breaks through, then you pull his fate to link with yours in lifelong servitude; you do this by cursing him, something like…breaking into hives if he ever disobeys you, or having him personally killing a loved one if he ever disobeys you, or making him destroying his whole country if he ever disobeys you. You then set a breakthrough timepoint, where on this day and this time this person will break through, since that's what Yin sorcery is all about—and once that timepoint is reached, you now have one of the most powerful slaves in existence doing your bidding."

Syaoran shrank back, horror clenching in his chest. "What—why would he want—"

"Because Yin sorcery takes energy," Said Yang, "And it's easier to have a horde of sorcerers carrying out your command. In fact, it takes no effort to have a horde of sorcerers carrying out your command, as opposed to doing things yourself."

The door to the café opened.

"Syaoran."

Syaoran jerked around at the familiar voice. Fuutie stood at the door, so stern that everyone in the café turned to look at her in mild alarm.

Syaoran was not sure if he was calm or just too numb with dread to feel it. He took his backpack and pulled the straps onto his shoulder.

"Thanks for the hot chocolate," He said to Yang quietly.

Yang was looking between the two siblings with wide eyes. Syaoran did not give him a chance to respond. He slid over to his disapproving sister, who said nothing as she held the door open for the two of them to leave.

* * *

"Landon," Le told Heben, "It was strange. A month of no show, and suddenly he's wandering around the market all by himself, and just when Landon was there too. If I hadn't shown up, the kid would have been toast."

Heben frowned as he pulled a drawer out to retrieve a phonebook. "Any hint of why Landon is in Hong Kong?"

"No. I pretended you were around. Better to be safe than sorry with that guy."

"I will call Liding, see if he heard anything about this."

"Second is in France, what's he going to know about an American?"

"Worth a try." Heben flipped through the pages. "What about the child?"

Le hesitated. "I told him. I didn't get a chance to really go into detail, because he was really scared, and then his sister showed up and took him home. She seemed really upset. I don't think this market trip was planned."

"How much have you told him?"

Le related.

"We will have to keep an eye on the boy," Heben frowned, "I am charging you with watching him tomorrow. I do not want Landon getting his hands on him."

"Yes, captain," Le saluted playfully, but his eyes were serious. "We might…need to prepare to bring him here."

"We will cross that bridge when we get to it," Heben promised, picking up the phone.

* * *

Yelan set the phone down on the table with deceptive gentleness.

"_Xiaolang_," She began, "Do you wish to continue living in this house?"

_I am a Yin sorcerer._ Syaoran was so overwhelmed, all he could manage was a blank expression.

"If you do not want to live by the rules under this roof," Yelan continued, "You can take yourself out. Live without funds from the Li clan. You can work for yourself, try to earn your own money, find your own place, get your own food. I will not stop you."

_That's just it. You never seem to care enough to stop me if I ever do choose to leave._

"Mother," Fuutie spoke up, "This isn't like Syaoran. He's always been good. Maybe he's just had a really bad day."

Yelan was silent for so long that Syaoran almost could not stand it.

At length, the woman sighed.

"Why did you disobey me, my son?" She demanded softly, "Why did you refuse to answer my call? Why did you turn the phone off, so that there is no way for any of us to contact you?"

This was his chance. He could explain himself. His mother was allowing him to explain himself.

But how could he make her understand?

"It was a beautiful day," He said at last. "And besides, you found me." Through magic, he supposed.

"You disobeyed Mother because it was a beautiful day?" Fuutie was incredulous.

A heavy silence fell, so heavy it was suffocating. Syaoran had to break it.

"Usually when the weather is this nice," He looked down, "I would go to Penguin Park and sit for a while, or take a walk with Sakura and her friends. I'd leave homework for after dinner, when the sun already set and there isn't anything outside to do."

He had a feeling he had just completely baffled his listeners, but he really did not know what else to say.

After another silence, his mother murmured, "Do you have homework due tomorrow, _Xiaolang_?"

He nodded. "Yes, Mother."

She stared at him, clearly uncertain what to make of him. "Go take care of that, then."

He did not need to be told twice. It took all of his willpower not to simply race out of the room.

* * *

"The Yang brothers are in Hong Kong."

"All three?"

"At least the first and the youngest. There's a little Yin sorcerer who hasn't broken through, however."

This inspired intense interest. "Just how close is this child to breaking through?"

A chuckle. "He hasn't even started. The Yang brothers might be problematic though. One showed up to the little one's defense."

"We have not much time."

"There are more of us than the Yang brothers, surely we can get to the child, no matter their efforts, as long as we act fast."

"Do you know the identity of the boy?"

"No," Landon smirked, "But I intend to find out, and I intend to make him ours."


	3. Chapter Three

Game of Souls

Chapter Three

_"Could be a timepoint."_

Soul arts was always tricky. Unlike physical magic, which merely consisted of manipulating one's environment—something that was convenient but not much more complicated than using technology to do the same—working with destinies often, if not always, risked consequences unknown the practitioner. They worked with the future, which was always in motion to begin with, and setting events at timepoints could change the fate of an entire world, depending on the subject in question. Stronger sorcerers could see more of the future and more of the consequences of their actions, but nothing short of a god could see everything, so there was always a certain level of blindness when altering the course of time. It was a dangerous art to practice, and often encouraged not to be practiced at all. Most Yin sorcerers were strong with Yang magic anyway, and that often sufficed quite well.

Yet like any group, there were those who were wiser and those who were not so wise. Only a necromancer could keep another in line, and even that required diligence. Sporadic cases of sorcerers having talents for the soul arts happened very rarely, even more so than the normal physical magic, and as such, this was a major concern for everyone.

However, this did not explain why James Landon was in Hong Kong.

_"Could be unrelated to Hong Kong directly, or to the Clow Cards," _Liding's breath caused the phone to transmit static, _"Maybe some witch in the eighteen-hundreds cast a curse on a non-magical French man, and that led to a bunch of events, as these curses tend to do, and Landon's in Hong Kong in response to, or anticipation of, one of these consequences."_

"He went _straight _for the kid," Le reported to Liding, "He was _this _close. He had the kid's soul-weave unfurled and everything. It's not like the Li clan's obscure. Surely if one of them was due to be one of us, more people would know?"

_"Even_ we _did not know_," Liding pointed out, _"And the two of you have been living next door to the clan for what, a year now? How would the French know? I'll ask around, I guess, but we don't exactly have a 'Soul Arts Club' at this school, you know, and it's finals week so…you're probably better off figuring that one out yourselves. The French don't have much to do with Hong Kong, except in terms of stocks and investments."_

"Alright. Thanks, Second," Le clicked his tongue.

"Good luck on your finals," Heben reached to turn off the speaker.

_"Thanks Eldest. Talk to you later."_

"Bye," Le leaned back when Heben ended the call. "So nothing on that."

"I was hoping for more information before I confront Landon," Heben frowned. "We will have to wait and see for now. When you keep an eye on the child, make sure no one notices you."

Le saluted. "Will do. Not like I want to be noticed, exactly. Kid took it well, all things considered, but that doesn't mean his folks will. Good thing they don't know where we live."

* * *

The Li clan's archives contained little information about necromancers that Syaoran could use. There were few tomes that mentioned anything about them, and those that did basically reiterated everything Syaoran had been told about them over the years; that necromancy was a branch of dark magic, which corrupted the practitioner and inevitably brought harm to everything around it. The reflexive response for most other sorcerers whenever they did encounter a necromancer was to kill them, or at least try to. The necromancers themselves also seemed hostile, and Syaoran could not tell if this was because of narrative bias or selection bias—there was a chance, of course, that the more decent necromancers were also more inclined to keep to themselves.

There did seem to be some confusion as to what necromancy actually _was_; all texts agreed it had to do with souls, but some mentioned curses on living people, while others suggested necromancy involved the dead. It could be both, and Syaoran had no reason to believe otherwise, except Yang Le had lamented that the term "necromancer" was not a good name for them.

The authors of the texts also appeared to believe that necromancy was an art anyone could choose to practice, provided they were able to find a willing teacher. Yang Le's words seemed to refute that, however. He could have been lying, of course, but that was such a strange thing to lie about. _Unless he is trying to appeal to my insecurity. _After Syaoran had confided in Yang, even in vague terms, it was probably enough for Yang to piece things together. A little boy who felt lost and directionless would be easy to steer toward necromancy if he thought it made him 'special'. Syaoran had to admit that a childish, irrational part of him felt tempted. _Syaoran _did not feel evil, and if Yin magic was just something people were born with…

Rubbing his eyes, he leaned back in his chair. The family library was quiet, and no one else was around this early in the morning. Winter shortened the day, even so far south, and at this hour the sky was still mostly dark.

He considered the tomes in front of him and wished that he were in Tomoeda for this. Sakura would not know about necromancers, so she would have helped him look these things up without judging him, and even if he had to avoid Kero and Yue, which he likely would, he could always summon Tomoyo's help. Maybe. It was hard to say about the two girls. Still, in Tomoeda it would be easier to ask for help, and while Syaoran was not really the type to share his problems with people, the two years in Japan had mellowed him out enough that at least for the purposes of reading boring history records, he would have been willing to share the workload with those he trusted. Around here, if people caught wind of him looking up necromancy, they would become suspicious. Not necessarily of _him_—curiosity did not mean Syaoran intended to learn the art, and even Syaoran did not really believe what Yang said about sporadic manifestations, but they would question why he was suddenly interested in this, and that might blow the situation out of proportion. If Yin sorcerers really could curse people and summon the dead, Syaoran actually preferred putting all of this behind him. Yang had mentioned he and his brother had been around for a year. Maybe if they were never provoked, they would not act. Live and let live. This was, after all, what the attitudes of the Yangs seemed to be toward the Li-clan, anyway.

"Syaoran?"

Startled, Syaoran snapped his head around. One of his cousins was stepping away from a shelf. He was a tall teenager, around Yang Le's age, but very proud and inscrutable. He was one of the more magically powerful of their generation. Syaoran did not know him very well, and honestly had not liked him very much.

"Seyi-Ge," Syaoran attached the 'elder-brother' honorific and stood, as was proper when facing someone his elder.

"I saw the lights on in here…what are you doing in here so early?"

Syaoran glanced at the tomes. Fortunately, they were just historical records that happened to mention a few incidents involving necromancy. None of them had a blazing 'Necromancers and what they do' on them.

"I couldn't sleep," He admitted. He then glanced at the clock. Soon he should prepare to leave for school.

Seyi moved closer, but leaned against the wall opposite Syaoran. "Mother said Aunt Yelan was worried about you. Have you been coming to the archives every morning since you came back?"

A little surprised by these words of concern, especially since Seyi seemed _genuinely _concerned, it took Syaoran a moment to remember he should reply.

"No, just this morning." Syaoran stood awkwardly, since he had not been given permission to sit by his cousin. "What about you, Seyi-Ge? You're up early too."

"I had some extra work to do this morning so I got up earlier to train."

"Oh."

An awkward silence descended. Syaoran waited, wondering what else Seyi could want.

"Is everything alright?" His cousin asked. "We heard about yesterday."

It figured that his market excursion would be broadcasted to every member of the clan.

Syaoran shrugged. "Not much happened."

"It's not like you," Which was fine for Seyi to say; Syaoran doubted Seyi even knew what he was like, as usually the older boy had better things to do than pay attention to a cousin five years younger than him, "You've been acting strange ever since you returned from Tomoeda."

"…" Syaoran did not know what to say to that at first. "Oh," He settled, "I don't know. I haven't really noticed."

Seyi scrutinized him for a moment longer before asking, "What are you looking at?"

Syaoran glanced at the tomes. "Just some random things."

"History logs?" Seyi leaned forward to read the covers. "Anything in particular?"

"No, Just some random things."

His cousin asked a few more questions, but somehow the conversation, if it could be called that, went around in the same circles. At length, Seyi gave up.

"You have school today right? Way too early for you to be up already. Why don't you go back and see if you can't get a bit more rest before you have to leave for classes?"

Syaoran doubted he could fall asleep if he wanted to, but he inclined his head anyway. "Yes, Seyi-Ge."

"And try not to worry your mother and sisters, will you?" Seyi turned around and stepped out.

Syaoran remained standing for a while, feeling exasperated but not sure why. _They don't _have _to worry about me if they don't _want _to, it's not like I'm _making _them worry._

He looked at the tomes and figured he might as well put them back where he found them. It was unlikely that he would learn anything new, and the sun was coming up, which meant his family would be expecting him in his room.

* * *

Landon, Heben found, was not the only unexpected visitor in Hong Kong. There was at least one other, also a white man. Heben was not sure if he was a Yin sorcerer because he would have to touch his aura to be certain, but he definitely had magic, if that blazing aura was any proof. The eldest Yang sat in the driver's seat of his car and watched the pair through the windshield. _Are they even shielding themselves? _Surely the Li clan would have descended on them if they were not. Yin magic might be impossible for normal sorcerers to sense, but everyone with magic had an aura. If these two were not shielding, the Li clan would know to keep an eye on them.

Heben was not certain he wanted that.

He was so focused on the pair that he almost did not sense the arrival of another sorcerer in his car.

"Figured you would want to stick your nose in this business."

Heben turned to look at the passenger's side, where another man was sitting. He wore loose grey robes that were the same shade as the sides of his hair and the tips of his beard. Heben recognized him, even though he had never seen him before. His kind called him the "Grey Man". He had normal alignments, in that he served himself and others whenever the mood took him, so he was not strictly _evil_, but he tended to show up whenever…something big was about to happen.

"Sir," He greeted cautiously.

The Grey Man chuckled. "Skipping work today to look out for your little brother's friend? Aren't you the devoted brother."

"…He's not just any friend…"

"True enough."

"Did _you _know Li Syaoran had Yin magic?"

"Of course not. Why would I pay attention to that runt?" The Grey Man blew out a dismissive breath. "But there are certain unrelated events coalescing and I'll admit, Li Syaoran _is _the most intriguing out of all of them. They like to do that, events. They like to run together."

"What sort of events are coalescing?"

"Well, those two aren't here for Li Syaoran, I can tell you that. Neither are their friends. Neither am I, in fact." He looked at Heben. "I like you. I like your brothers. You are all fine, _fine _young men. Stay out of this one. I'd recommend you move out of Hong Kong altogether, but I realize that's a bit much to ask. So if you know what's good for yourselves, keep your eyes averted and your mouths shut and let things take their course."

Of all things, Heben was not expecting that one. He did not know much about the Grey Man, so it was not for him to say whether this sorcerer tended to be this forward. Still, when it came to first acquaintances, he would have expected a little more ice-breaking before they cut to the chase.

"What am I supposed to avert my eyes from, exactly?"

The Grey Man smiled humorlessly. "Tell your brother to go to school like a proper student. If you interfere, you will regret it."

The Grey Man was older than Heben, and by all accounts much more powerful, but the eldest Yang was not going to let that remark slide without putting up a fight.

"Are you threatening us?"

This earned him a chuckle. "You know better than that. Among our kind, there are no threats. There are only promises."

Heben raised his magic in alarm. If the Grey Man intended to curse him, he might need everything he had—

But the other simply disappeared, leaving Heben to stare at an empty passenger's seat. He whipped his head around to look for Landon and his companion, but the pair had vanished at some point during the discourse with the Grey Man.

_He didn't cast any spell,_ Heben realized. _Someone else had already created a setpoint, intentionally or not, and if we get involved we would trigger it._

The Grey Man was _warning_ him.

* * *

Syaoran, Le found, was every bit as asocial in school as he was in the public library. It seemed less to do with inability than disinterest, which was not entirely surprising; the boy had been wrestling with depression ever since Le met him. He kept to himself, did what he was supposed to, and just seemed like a quiet, reserved child. Hardly anyone noticed there was something wrong with him; the only real way to tell was by his aura, which was a bit dim and desaturated.

He liked Syaoran's aura, or at least what it should be. A nice, vibrant, leafy green. It was not a bad color to have, not that there were bad colors, but green did seem to suit the youngster. A cool color, fitting for a magic based on the moon. Not entirely worthy of something like the Clow Cards; Le and his brothers might not think much of the deck, but it was still a considerable artifact of magic for Yang sorcerers, so it was not entirely surprising that he never even thought, based on Syaoran's aura, to check and see if there was any Yin magic there.

_Now how did Landon know?_

For a sorcerer who had not broken through, they were by all appearances a regular Yang sorcerer. Usually Yin sorcerers were strong Yang sorcerers and it would be a habit for Yin magicians to check out another sorcerer if their aura was suggestive; detecting each other required intention and effort, unlike passive sensing for regular magicians. Granted, strong sorcerers could usually shield, but Yin sorcerers could usually detect past any physical shields. Someone like Syaoran should not have captured Landon's attention at all. For Landon to realize what Syaoran was, he had to know what to look for first.

_He went straight for the gold._ Le recalled the vibrant embroidered aura bursting out of the boy at Landon's command. The man had known exactly where to look and what to grab. Had Le not been in that side of the store at that precise moment, Syaoran might have been claimed.

_They kind of had a point when they said our kind is dangerous,_ Le thought grimly.

It was all very strange though. Landon's appearance here, knowing exactly where to look for—even showing up at the same bookstore when Syaoran visited was distinctly odd. Even Yang sorcerers knew that coincidences did not happen. For Yin sorcerers, this was doubly true.

Yet Syaoran was not exactly _conspicuous—_he had Yin talents, true, and he was a sporadic case, which was unusual, but even if Syaoran broke through, Le doubted he would be very strong. He would be a strong Yang sorcerer, since breakthroughs tended to induce a kind of growth spurt in Yang magic as well, but given his baseline Yang magic, he would not be the most spectacular Yin sorcerer.

_Or maybe I'm wrong._ Le had never met a Yin sorcerer who had not broken through. Sporadic cases are so rare, and inherited cases would have learned to break through long ago. Maybe once Syaoran broke through, he could suddenly gain godlike powers. Plus, if Landon were here looking for someone like Syaoran because he knew of some setpoint, perhaps he would have probed anyone that had magic. Le's own brother had a habit of doing that; after all, that was how he knew that Syaoran was one of them in the first place, and most Yang sorcerers would not notice a Yin aura testing them.

Something tingled at his senses then, breaking him out of his thoughts. The boy was in class and listening to the teacher, so nothing particularly interesting was happening there. Outside the school building, however…the teen frowned, focusing. That had felt a little like Yin magic, though he could not be sure.

Yin sorcerers, or necromancers, did their work outside the physical world. Since souls were immaterial, they needed to work through the same medium, which often meant crossing into the required dimension to conduct their business. The ability to cross over at will was one of the things that separated Yin sorcerers from Yang sorcerers, and this also allowed necromancers to "teleport", because while they were in the spiritual realm, time was frozen, and they could travel the landscape at their leisure. All Yin sorcerers could teleport this way, though from their own perspective they still had to make the journey and endure the time required, but to the rest of the physical world, no time passed between when they left and when they reentered. Sometimes two necromancers would meet while in the spiritual dimension, and they would catch up and exchange information before going their separate ways. Other times, a confrontation would ensue, and one or neither would never be seen again.

Usually, though, if a necromancer were entering the spiritual realm close by, another would sense it. That was how he caught Landon at the bookstore. Though time was frozen while the sorcerers were in the spiritual realm, it did require several physical seconds to cross in-between, which was why Le managed to stop Landon in time. Recalling how close that had been, Le was not willing to let this one slide.

He slipped instantly into the spiritual world. The physical world greyed out, several leaves freezing in midair. From his perspective, time stretched out before him, unveiling the most probable futures given the current trajectory of events. Since neither Le nor the other Yin sorcerer were present in the physical world, the events there proceeded as if neither existed. He saw Syaoran was to complete the day of school and go home unimpeded, since that was the most likely scenario—if neither Le nor the other Yin sorcerer were present.

Learning how to interpret and modify through this realm was a study in of itself, and Le would hardly claim to be an expert, even if by virtue of his Yang blood, he had more of an advantage than most. The fact that they were each their own blind spot did not help matters—since every time one of them wanted to take a look at time, they would have to take themselves out of the equation, the events shown were always at least slightly inaccurate. It made wielding soul arts that much harder. So many consequences could result from the presence of just one individual.

He was still in his hiding spot on the tree, and he had not gotten a _good _sense of where the other person was. He knew the sorcerer was here, though, based on how the events of time stretched before him had not changed to accommodate the other's re-entry. To find the practitioner, though, Le would have to move from his hiding spot. Since everything was frozen, he would have to do this carefully to avoid drawing attention. Likely as not, the other already sensed his entrance.

But the other did not appear to have realized there was company, because in the next moment he felt Syaoran enter the realm. The boy started when his surroundings changed, and he jumped out of his seat to look around a frozen, colorless classroom. The little one's aura whitened with fear, though his face remained composed. _One of those kids,_ Le thought; the more frightened they were, the less expressive they became. Good for the pride, but bad for incurring empathy.

_Any more of this, and he is going to be stressed enough to have a breakthrough._ Le hardly thought that was a bad thing, but it could cause problems with Syaoran's family.

The boy was looking around still. His attacker had yet to reveal himself. Either this practitioner was moderately powerful, to be able to pull Syaoran into this realm from such a distance, or he was somehow already in the building and thus closer to Syaoran. Le frowned, reaching out mentally to grab a hold of the boy's aura in case the other sorcerer _was _so close, because if that was the case, Le was currently too far to intervene in person. Syaoran started when he felt Le latch on; the boy had no idea what he was feeling, and Le could sense a rudimentary effort to dislodge him.

_Sorry kid, kind of out of your league. At least for now._

Syaoran stepped from his desk, stumbling a little. Moving around shifted perspectives, and in a realm that perceived four dimensions, this could be disorienting. Le kept hold of his aura as he looked around to see if there were any observers moving. He needed to get down from this tree.

A sudden tug broke his train of thought. Someone was trying to do what Landon did: open Syaoran's aura to manipulate his soul. Le squashed that attempt, but was surprised to feel Syaoran do the same, though the boy was much less refined. _Quick learner._ Le was impressed. The boy was also alarmed now, and his Yang aura was practically blazing with fright. Not a good reflex to fear, that, but Le supposed he could not blame him. To other Yang sorcerers, Syaoran would have been better hidden. It was his misfortune that he was dealing with a completely different game now.

There was a moment's hesitation, where Le was busy climbing down the tree without rustling the branches too much, while Syaoran was evaluating the hallway and then escaping into it, before the boy was shoved back into the real world. Syaoran halted during the transfer and was frozen as he completely exited, joining the stopped time of the physical realm. Le, who had not been prepared for this, felt his hold on Syaoran's aura snap off.

_What the—_

Abruptly, a dark spell weaved into existence, and Syaoran's portion of the path of events—_The teacher blinking in surprise because Syaoran had suddenly vanished into thin air, Syaoran turning around trying to decide where to go—_suddenly warped around.

Le cursed, because this person was trying to curse Syaoran, and even as he ran in the direction of where that particular timeline was arching, he saw setpoints being planted and the multiple futures merging to those points: Syaoran to get dehydrated after school and forced to sit on a bench on his walk home—all perfect for a physical abduction. The setpoints were strong too, for all their simplicity, and to undo them would require much more effort than Le was willing to expend with potential enemies about. Dehydration and rest he might be able to work with if he could not undo them; he would have to remember to buy water from the store before schools let out, and then wait by that bench—but he needed to deal with this attacker before he planted any more setpoints.

Luckily, when sorcerers manipulated destinies, they had to draw that timeline to their location, so Le now knew where the other person was. He wound up not being far, and completely ready for Le as well—a white man, though Southern European, dressed in a coat for he was outdoors, and sunglasses obscuring his eyes.

Le struck. First agenda: break the man's hold on Syaoran's timeline.

The man pulled back, and the two engaged with Le trying strike at the man and make a grab for the timeline while the man evaded him. No words were exchanged. Yang magic flared, and Le was forced to dodge a physical spell—such spells were always a bit strange in the spiritual realm, in that they were less easy to sense coming, but they were no less destructive and dangerous. He cast a few spells of his own; he was a Yang, after all, even if he was not his brother.

None of the spells hit, but the man did release Syaoran's timeline, sending it swinging back to its original position with the two setpoints still anchored. The man cast a spell that sent smoke everywhere and withdrew. Le coughed, since the smoke was cast in the spiritual realm and could therefore swirl around on its own. He tried to recover his bearings and run after the man, but the other sorcerer was fleeing across the street at a ridiculously fast pace, and by the time Le crossed, he had no idea where the man raced off to.

Swearing to himself, Le ran back to the school. _To heck, the kid's obviously been marked. _He reached out, as the other man had done earlier, and pulled Syaoran back to the spirit realm.

Most of the side doors were locked from the outside, so he had to circle around to the front, where the doors were open and there was a security guard frozen with a cup of coffee in one raised hand. He ran past, and came to Syaoran in the empty hall, aura bright with fear and adrenaline.

"Yang Le!" The boy blinked.

"It's me, kid, let's get you out of here before more people show up. Come along," Le grabbed the boy's shoulder, ignoring how Syaoran tried to flinch away. "We can't stay here long, not really good for your health. Go grab your things, you're coming with me."

"What just happened—"

"I'll explain later." Le took out his cell phone. He was going to have to call his brother as soon as they re-entered the physical realm. "Get your things and just trust me, alright?"

Syaoran still stared at him for a moment, but seemed to decide he had no choice. "I don't like being pulled in and out like this."

"I'm sorry, kid, first time wasn't me," Le was going to the classroom to take care of the whole vanishing incident they would definitely freak out over if he left them alone. Manipulating memories was much easier with Yin magic than with Yang; Yang magic typically could only erase memories, not modify them. "Unfortunately, it appears Landon's spread the news that there's a little Yin sorcerer who hasn't broken through yet. That guy wasn't him. Not sure how he knew you were here, but let's not take any chances that he'll come back, or that he has any more friends, alright?"

Syaoran was unsteady as he shoved everything into his backpack, while Le quickly worked the minds of everyone in the room by grabbing their timelines and setting his own timepoints. Syaoran's own short-term destiny of getting dehydrated and resting was currently still attached to his aura, though given that he had suddenly ceased to exist, according to the real world, this was not laid out in a timeline form the way other destinies were. _He's going to have a lot to learn, _Le mused. _This Yin magic stuff can be really confusing._

"Why are you helping me?" Syaoran demanded, as he somehow made his way to Le's side. It was a stupid question, but he could be forgiven since he was obviously upset and overwhelmed, not to mention possibly nauseous because of his crazy environment, even if nothing was actually moving around them.

"Because I like you, kid, and I'm not a psychopath."

Le was done with the final touch, and he quickly led Syaoran out to the hall and the side door, closing it carefully behind them. Syaoran followed mutely, stumbling every once in a while because he was so dizzy from his surroundings. Le kept a steady hand on his elbow, supporting the boy's light weight when he lost balance.

"Alright, we'll cross the street, turn around the corner there, and if there are no witnesses about, we'll re-enter," He told the boy.

They ended up having to go two blocks before Le could return them back to the physical realm. Syaoran blanched even as color returned to the world around them. He looked faintly ill.

"You alright there, kid?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Sorry. We should probably go to the store. You're going to need water later." Frankly, Syaoran looked like he needed water _now_.

"I—wait," The child swallowed. "What exactly are you planning to do?" _With me?_ Le felt sorry for the kid. This whole experience would have unnerved even Le, let alone a boy who was raised thinking Yin magicians were all necrophilic creeps.

"My goal is to keep you safe," He promised, and knelt down so he was looking up at Syaoran. "I promise, I won't let harm come to you."

Syaoran stared, looking reluctant to trust him. Luckily for Le's purposes, he also looked too sick to protest.

* * *

Fate had a funny way of working with setpoints. Since Le had not undone the other sorcerer's spells, Syaoran was going to become dehydrated and sit on that specific bench no matter what they tried to do. Whether it was through non-magical means or magical means, this was going to happen unless Le undid the setpoints, and it always took ten times more effort to undo a setpoint than to set one in the first place, no matter how weak it was.

Having the guarantee of Syaoran being incapacitated at a particular location was going to be inconvenient, because that was pretty much the ideal way to ambush someone, and Le was not sure just how many enemies they were dealing with, nor how strong.

_"Something is going on,"_ Heben told Le as they went to a local Seven-Eleven to buy a few bottles of Gatorade. _"I was visited by the Grey Man."_

"The Grey Man?" Le blinked. "What on earth is _he _here for? For crying out loud…what's going on in Hong Kong?"

_"I don't know," _Heben replied, while Syaoran stiffened next to Le; he still had not quite recovered from the rough passage between worlds. Le rubbed the boy's shoulder and allowed the smaller child to lean against him as Heben went on, _"But he's warning us not to get involved. Apparently there are consequences already planted if we get involved."_

Le swore. Of course there were. It was not like the Yang brothers made a secret of their stay in Hong Kong. They did not broadcast it, of course, but they did not anticipate that there would be trouble of this nature. Yin sorcerers did not make a habit of creating trouble. Even those like Landon tended to behave themselves compared to Yang sorcerers. If they did not, the world would probably be destroyed thousands of years ago. "They took _us _into account? And actually were able to curse us? How did we not sense this at all?"

_"I doubt a direct curse on _us _is involved, but they definitely took us into account, whatever this is."_

"Well, I'm certainly not backing out." Syaoran's life could be at stake. He related the situation to his brother, who was silent for a long time after his tale.

"We can't just abandon him to these freaks," Le protested, when the lack of reaction began to unnerve him.

_"Is he with you right now?"_

"Yes."

_"Where are you?"_

Le told him.

_"We're going to have to try to undo the setpoint."_

Le frowned. "We'll be totally out of it if we do."

_"It's the only way we can keep ahead of the child's pursuers. I do not see them letting the opportunity to ambush us slide."_

Le swore, before remembering he had a younger boy leaning on him and mentally swore again.

"Alright, we'll hang around. How soon can you get here?"

_"I'll be there in about ten minutes."_

* * *

Yang Le got in the back seat of Heben's car, which ended up being rather fancy, if Syaoran's assessment was correct. It was not exactly a Rolls Royce, but clearly Yang Heben earned a respectable income. They drove out, Le leaning into the passenger's seat to talk to his brother.

"We just need to undo _one _of the setpoints. We can take care of Syaoran if he gets dehydrated, as long as he doesn't have to be at that bench."

"It depends on how he gets dehydrated," Heben pointed out, "You're thinking thirst. I'm worried about hemorrhage."

Yang Le muttered something under his breath.

"With that in mind, make sure he's buckled."

Syaoran buckled his seatbelt before Yang Le could move to do so, frowning a little. _I can buckle myself,_ He thought with annoyance.

"Really glad this is a high-quality car," Yang Le muttered.

Heben glanced at the side-mirror muttered a more archaic oath than his younger brother would.

"What's wrong?"

"Can't do a driving chase in Hong Kong without drawing more attention," Heben scowled, "We better undo that setpoint _now_."

Yang Le twisted around and cursed as well. Syaoran looked behind him, but he saw nothing unusual.

"Le-Le, you are going to have to go."

"What?"

Syaoran felt a strange tingle spread over his skin, raising the fine hairs on his arms.

"Someone set a setpoint," Heben told Yang Le, "They'll have us sandwiched if you stay in the car. You'll need to undo the setpoint by yourselves."

"I can't undo the setpoint all by myself!"

_I have no idea what they're even talking about!_

"Then you better hope you get the boy to break through and help you, because I cannot pop the whole car away while we are moving!"

"Then stop!"

"If I stop the others will know what we're doing! You better leave, now!"

Yang Le grabbed Syaoran by the arm, cursing again. "Hold on, kid!"

The world started greying out, but even as it did, Syaoran heard the screech of tires. In front of them, several cars ahead, was a truck for Coca-Cola, red lights suddenly flaring as it tried to brake. Heben was turning the steering wheel to veer towards the sidewalk where pedestrians had not even had time to spin around at the noise.

_A setpoint. There's going to be a car accident._

The cars in front were braking too, but they did not have enough time, and the cars behind them were still moving—

The world froze, but Syaoran and Yang Le were still moving in their original momentum. The seatbelt kept Syaoran in place, but it squeezed the air out of him.

Yang Le tugged the door open and pulled Syaoran. "Come on!" He yelled, yanking him out. "We better get as far away from here as possible!"

Syaoran followed.

_Oh my god, Yang Heben is going to be in a car accident—_


	4. Chapter Four

Game of Souls

Chapter Four

How Yang Le could navigate this strange realm with Time stretched out in all directions was absolutely beyond Syaoran. The faster they moved, the more nauseous he felt, as his brain rejected the world around him and insisted that he was spinning and sick.

"Come on," Yang Le urged, "I know it's hard, it's not good for you here, but you have to keep going so we can get out of here faster. Come on!"

Syaoran gritted his teeth and endured; he fought off the urge to vomit and shut his eyes, relying on the blindness to ward away the disorienting way everything was changing and morphing around him. Yang Le's grip was tight on his wrist, almost to the point of painful. He managed not to fall, but every step seemed like a near thing, and when Yang Le finally stopped Syaoran had to grab onto him to support himself.

"Sorry kid," Yang Le held him up for a moment, "There, catch your breath."

He was poking at something or plucking at something. It took a moment for Syaoran to realize it was his own…timeline, sleek and straight for two segments.

"Set _and _timepoint," Yang Le muttered, still holding him with one hand, "These people just can't be incompetent when you need them to be. Alright, location is more important."

Syaoran dared to look around him. He recognized this park. They had clearly been running for a while, because it was quite a distance away from the impending car crash. The world was grey and still and silent. Syaoran felt sick just looking at everything.

"What happened to your brother?" He asked, righting himself. Yang Le kept a hand on his shoulder, for which Syaoran actually felt grateful. At this point he was not even sure which way gravity was going.

"He'll be fine. He'll come by this world right before the crash and hop out of the car so he doesn't get squashed. We won't see him though, because until we leave time doesn't move forward for us. Well, not quite. Time does move a little…it's confusing, I know. You'd understand it a little more once you're broken through."

This again.

"Why are people after me all of the sudden?" Syaoran asked. "And are you sure they are actually after me?"

"They're after you for sure. Whether you're their end-goal is another matter," Yang Le continued to examine the timeline, though he did not seem to be 'undoing' it the way he kept obsessing about earlier. "Truth is, I don't know what's going on any more than you do. Not where it's important, anyway. No clue why these people are in Hong Kong. No clue what they want with you. I do know that _something _attracted them here, and you're likely involved."

"What about my family?" Syaoran felt his stomach tighten. _If these necromancers are after us, I need to warn everyone—_

"No offense, but no one cares about the Li clan. I mean, we all know about your folks, of course, kind of hard not to, but as far as priorities go, they're not one of them. Different interests. We only care enough to try to stay out of your way, assuming even that. Eldest and I certainly did. These new guys? I don't think picking on one of the Li clan's little ones constitutes as 'staying out of the way'."

Syaoran scowled. "Would you stop calling me that?"

"Oh. Sorry." While Yang Le did not appear to be mocking him, he also did not seem to take Syaoran's discontent to heart. Then again, he seemed focused on Syaoran's timeline.

"Can you undo whatever they did to me?"

"I will definitely try," Yang Le finally released Syaoran, focusing his attention on the timepoints. "Specifically the location. It's difficult to undo a setpoint, it's why we have to be so careful. Would help if you break through as well." He looked down at Syaoran. "Are you up for that?"

_Break through?_ Syaoran could not hide how cold the mere thought made him feel.

Yang Le looked too anxious to be sympathetic. "Come on, kid—er—whatever. Look, I can't do this on my own, and whatever those guys want with you is _not __good._ I'm not as strong as my brother, and sure, maybe I can undo this setpoint on my own, but I'll be washed out for the rest of the _week_, I'm not kidding. I'd still probably be washed out, but at least if you break through, we stand a chance. Fudge this," He grabbed Syaoran by the shoulders, "I need you to pour all your energy into breaking _this _setpoint. Do you understand?"

No. A setpoint was hardly a lock. It was more like a point of maximum confluence of possible futures, and even that was a poor definition. There was nothing Syaoran could compare it to, because he had never _seen _anything like this before. This very realm was _insane_. His sisters once joked about how someone acted like they were on drugs; this must be what it was like.

Yang Le swore. "Alright, demonstration then. Pay attention."

He drew back, and suddenly his entire body lit up in a pale grey-blue glow, so that he seemed more specter than human. His skin seemed to be made of light, and the only areas that were not glowing, ironically, were his eyes, which looked dark, like bottomless pits, against the bright glow of his skin. Then, his aura, a bluer light than his body, unfurled from him like a tapestry. It was not a diffuse light, the way most auras were. Rather, it was like when Landon had forced Syaoran's aura to unfold back at the bookstore—more like embroidered last, with intricate patterns of bright thread, weaving in an organized fashion as it built away from its owner. As it stretched further away, it faded, just as light would, but leaving the two of them surrounded by the weave of lights, as if they were in a sphere of embroidery.

Yang Le swept both hands in front of him, arms straight, and from his palm and fingers blasted a sudden stream of light, bright and potent and white with intensity. He shot it straight at the second setpoint that seemed to mark Syaoran's future self collapsed on a bench. It rippled under the stream of light, making Syaoran want to throw up just looking at it. Yang Le kept blasting for a few more seconds, before stopping, dropping his arms. The lights faded all at once; both the lace-like aura and his skin.

"There," He exclaimed, sounding a little out of breath, "I'm out of shape. But did you catch that?"

Syaoran was not sure what it was he was supposed to catch. "I don't think I can mimic what you did."

"Yes you can." Yang Le ran his fingers through his hair, "It's easy once you actually do it. It doesn't look as hard as it looks. Just think about doing it and then go."

Syaoran stepped back a little. "I'm not…look, I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I'm not a Yin sorcerer—"

"The hell you aren't. If you weren't a Yin sorcerer you wouldn't be moving around and talking to me in this dimension. You really think just anyone can be dragged into this realm?"

Syaoran could hardly think. "I'm not going to believe you just because _you _say so. And I really need to get out of here," He had not had lunch yet, but somehow he doubted his stomach really cared. The first heave he managed to suppress. The second he did not.

"Oh dear."

Yang Le had Syaoran crouch down.

"Alright, if we're going to leave and re-enter, we're putting ourselves at risk for someone setting more timepoints once we're out there. You're getting sick…uh, alright, how about this, I can claim your soul temporarily—just temporarily! I'll give it back as soon as you're recovered, but that's the only way I can think of to protect your fate from being manipulated again. The more timepoints they set the less I can do about them. Do I have your permission?"

"Just get me out of here," Syaoran gritted his teeth as he repressed the next heave. When Yang Le still looked uncertain, he managed to wheeze out, "_Please!_"

The teen burst into action. Syaoran was aware of green light sprouting out of him, fine and intricate just like at the bookstore. Then the older boy's hands were grasping at them, collecting them as one would collect loose string. He tugged, and more light spilled out, but this time Syaoran felt dizzy, and then abruptly, he blanked out.

* * *

"You alright?"

Syaoran groaned. A hand smoothed over his forehead. It was so soothing, he thought he was going to fall asleep.

"Man, this gives me a new insight into why Yang sorcerers hate us so much. Knew that world wasn't good for you, but didn't figure it actually made you people this _sick_. I guess I helped take care of the whole dehydration issue, because you just sweat out like a half-liter and it's not even the end of school yet." A bottle of Gatorade was placed under his lips. Syaoran never cared for the American drink, but right now it tasted _exquisite._

"Are we at the bench?" He rasped, once he downed half bottle.

"No, and the drink probably won't help much in the long run, until we break the setpoints. I figured we still have a couple of hours though. It's only noon." Yang Le checked his watch. "A little after noon. Four minutes. Folks are out to lunch."

They were sitting in a park, near a trash can that blocked them from any witnesses. Syaoran was curled up next to Yang Le, who looked around every once in a while to scan for observers.

"Man, if I can just rehydrate you enough to get you to break through," The teen shook his head. "Didn't figure we'd get into this sort of mess. Thought it was over. Well I guess we still don't have to but it's not like there's really much choice," He glanced back down at Syaoran, who was squinting at him.

"Care to elaborate?" Syaoran drawled. "'Thought it was over'?"

"Well, I guess you ought to know, considering we're neighbors," Yang Le looked around again. "My family, the Yangs, well, we're pretty well-known among the Yin sorcerers. I know, Yangs being Yin. We get that a lot. There aren't a lot of us, Yin sorcerers, we tend to keep a low profile, and we don't even know every one of us, but my family's pretty prestigious. Our ancestors were responsible for a bunch of really important events, both non-magical and magical. It was said one reason the Clow Cards didn't stay with the Reed's, or with the Li's, I guess, your mom's side of the Li's, anyway," He paused, "Well, supposedly one of my ancestors had something to do with that. Indirectly. Consequences and things like that."

Syaoran blinked. Yang Le, he decided, was bad at explaining things.

"Point is, we're big shots, and we had a few members who were especially powerful, but that kind of power hops around, you know. It's not like all the sons and daughters of a powerful sorcerer are equally powerful. You have some prodigies and you have some runts. My parents were runts. The power jumped, went to the three of us. Unequally too. Eldest got the bulk. Back when I was a baby, there was apparently some scuffle. Mom and Dad weren't directly involved but they got killed in the crossfire. Eldest had to raise Second and me all by himself. He essentially became a dad when he was twelve."

Syaoran closed his eyes, swallowing. He could not imagine how hard it must have been. He had gone to Tomoeda backed with the financial support of his family, and though Li Yelan was a distant presence, at least she had been _there_.

"We kind of abused our powers a little to survive. Didn't want to stay in a foster home or orphanage, so we bailed, and used our abilities to get away with things. Get money. Get a residence. Wasn't long before we got into trouble for it; soul arts aren't exactly the sort of things you should use a lot, even for yourself. When you set a timepoint or a setpoint, everything up to that point coalesces to make that event happen at the time you set it, and you also limit how events progress after that point. You'd think it's no different from how things usually go, I mean, where we are now kind of limits what happens after now, and so on, but it turns out Mother Nature likes things to happen _naturally_, and whenever you force things to happen, there's a retaliation. We ended up having to eat a bunch of our own consequences, and then other Yin sorcerers started noticing the consequences too, since usually the effects of setting timepoints and such are very widespread. As in, affects worlds, widespread. Not just this one." Yang Le gestured. "So we had a few confrontations. It was hard for Eldest. He's the most powerful, but he was young, and my second brother and I weren't much help."

"How did you get out of that one?"

"Sometimes life sends you someone. Not always, and usually you need to be the one to reach for the rope to haul yourself out of the quagmire, but sometimes life sends you someone. There was a woman, a sorceress. Eldest never told me her name. She was a bit older than him, like, eight years older, or something. Powerful sorceress, that one, but most of all, skillfull. Her setpoints are another thing entirely; it takes skill to even _find _them, and once you do, it's a puzzle to even figure out _how _to unravel them, even disregarding how _solid _they are. She use to mind her own business somewhere outside Beijing. She might have been a practicing Daoist. I don't know. For some reason she chose to help us out. Gave Eldest a few tips, and set a few conditions—_conditions_, which are setpoints that require certain criteria to be met first—and then she died." Yang Le shrugged. "Not sure how. Eldest implied that it had to do with paying for her spells. I've only seen a few pictures of her when she was alive, never met her in person. She was a looker, died young. Kind of sad. But her setpoints held, and when we stopped messing around, the other sorcerers just…went away. She left us some of her stuff, with notes on which ones we were allowed to sell, which ones we should hold on to. They ended up garnering a _ton _of money; antiques, you know, and then Eldest got into college, a job, and I guess the rest is history."

"Why did your brother never tell you her name?"

"Not sure. She was always 'The Sorceress'. Too big for a mere name."

Syaoran pondered a little over this.

"You ready to give it another shot?"

Syaoran was able to sit upright now, though he drank a little more Gatorade before answering. "Did all of this happen in Hong Kong?" It would be alarming if all this had happened right next to the Li clan.

"_Noooo._ This happened in Hunan. We only came down to Hong Kong a year ago, after Eldest found a job here."

"Oh."

Silence fell. Syaoran was not sure why he felt so discomfited. Yang Le really was not a good storyteller, and he was almost glib in his commentary, but despite this, Syaoran had a feeling there was even more to the world of Yin sorcerers than the teen had let on. The Sorceress's death, to "pay for her spells", was especially startling, and he could not say whether he found the idea itself unnerving, or the fact that Yang Le seemed to think nothing of it.

"What will happen if I break through?"

"You get to learn a whole new set of magic tricks," Yang Le looked around, "And try your hardest not to use them, because using them causes consequences, as I said. Consequences that _you _have to take care of. It's very hard to get the hang of. But I guess you also see how the world is made. Provided you are strong enough, you get to see all sorts of things while you're working in the spirit realm. Beings that are normally hidden from the mortal eye. One time I bumped a sprite…I don't suppose you know what they are. Point is, there are a lot of things in our world that humans don't normally know of. They're usually not relevant, but they're there, and it's interesting when you do find them. As for your family, and the other Yang sorcerers," Yang Le shrugged, "It's up to you. We all have secrets. This can be one of yours. Or you can reveal yourself and see what happens. Besides having to master the soul arts themselves, nothing has to happen that you don't choose."

"I don't like it."

Yang Le's look was a little flat. "Look, I know this is a lot to swallow, but I'm busting my rear end trying to save _you _here."

Syaoran covered his face. The teen sighed.

"Look…kid…"

"I'm alright."

"You can do this, and you're not alone."

"Is there _no _other way?" Syaoran was not sure how even Clow Reed could defend against the sort of things he had witnessed today. Setting points…how much of his life had been affected by that already? _Was Clow Reed a Yin sorcerer?_

"Not in the time that we have, my man," Yang Le sounded genuinely apologetic, "Seriously even if you have the fancy Clow Cards…I mean_…_I've never heard of a Yin sorcerer losing to a Yang sorcerer without some treacherous curse already in place. I know there were confrontations before…but even now, any one of those idiots out there could be in that other world, trying to adjust fate. It's only my claim on you that's buying us a bit of rest for now."

Syaoran blinked. He had forgotten about the claim.

"For now," Yang Le assured him, "I'll relinquish it once we settle this matter."

"I know," Syaoran took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and the teen's eyes softened.

"I don't know what to say to make you feel better."

"Probably nothing will," Syaoran pointed out. He took another deep breath and set the Gatorade aside. "I'm ready."

Yang Le gave him an encouraging thump on the back, and then the world abruptly greyed out.

* * *

This episode was as dizzying as the last, but Syaoran took the time to look around and really study his surroundings, and he found that there were, indeed, certain interesting things he had never known before. Yang Le showed him the web of influence the Li clan had over Hong Kong, and it was startling to realize that his family had a tangible magical presence here, not just a figurative one.

Underneath the Li clan's authority, the Yang brothers' was almost impossible to notice.

"You can see a little more where we physically were," Yang gestured at their original spot, where his literal presence had left a magical imprint, but it was faint, no more striking than one left by a non-magical individual. "I do think 'Yin magic' is apt. Yang magic is so…showy. Yin, it's almost tedious, doing research and then setting points, and then when you come back no one would know. Yang magic you have explosions and lightning and stuff."

He kept a hold on Syaoran because the boy could easily get sick again. Syaoran normally did not like hugs; Li Yelan always said that boys should not be cuddled, so not even his sisters hugged him too much. In this strange realm beyond time, however, Yang Le's arms around him were the only things keeping him up, and for some reason being surrounded by them eased his discomfort somehow, as if the close contact gave him a root to orient himself when nothing else did.

"There are two things that allow a Yin sorcerer to break through," Yang Le told him as they regarded his timeline, "One is extreme panic, and one is extreme calm. Both have to happen in this world. We're going to try the extreme calm first."

Syaoran grimaced. It was not uncommon for two completely opposite mental states to accomplish the same thing, but he was not sure how well he would pull off either. He had always been trained to fight panic, but this world was not comfortable enough for him to be _calm _either.

"Focus on the timepoint, that one, yes," Yang Le nodded over Syaoran's head, "Focus on unraveling it. Reach out with your magic. Think of nothing but that."

Reach out with his aura? Syaoran could do that. The light, fresh and green like young grass, stretched out from him in elaborate lace-like patterns.

"That's right," Yang Le encouraged.

The setpoint was a confluence of events, smoothing together before and spreading out after. It seemed stuck together by a mighty force, and Syaoran had no idea what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to dissolve—

Yang Le's arms tightened when the confluence parted like a bunch of boiled noodles. Syaoran blinked. _Well, that was easy—_

"Oh—" The teen swore, then stammered, "It—I think we just figured out why everyone's after you, kid."

"Huh?"

"Just—this—the—do it again, second one."

Syaoran did so, blinking when that fell apart as well. When the lines of his timeline were fully spread, Syaoran suddenly felt some force lift off his body. He took a deep breath for the relief of it.

Yang Le swore again, disbelieving. "You did it as easily as _that!_" Syaoran felt something nudge at his aura, and a little irritated, he shoved right back. Yang Le twitched, indicating he was the culprit, but the teen went on cursing. "Eldest will throw a fit!"

"Can we leave now?" Syaoran asked. "I don't want to—" On the other hand, the world did seem much less disorienting than before. He looked around to make sure. _Why was I so dizzy earlier?_

Yang Le was still cursing. "I can't believe this!"

He stepped away from Syaoran to examine the timeline, but everything had normalized so there was nothing for him to see. There were no more confluences, though, which was probably all he needed to know.

"The setpoints were undone," Yang Le stared, "I've never heard of such a thing! I've never read such a thing."

He calmed down soon after that, turning to Syaoran. "Well, this sort of answers one question and then creates a bunch of others."

Syaoran just stared back.

"I do need to undo this though," Yang Le flicked his wrist, and lacy, green aura appeared in front of him. Syaoran watched as the teen then fed it back to the rest of his aura. _So that's how it's done._ "There. Soul unclaimed. Let's get back to the real world. If I had known…" He shook his head, "But I wouldn't have, because you didn't break through. That was the easiest breakthrough as well."

* * *

"He can undo setpoints like nobody's business, that's why they want him," Le told Heben once the eldest brother called to announce the car had been completely destroyed. "I checked his aura and there's nothing to explain that. Maybe he's so powerful, he's off the charts for me. Kind of makes you wonder though, what his setpoints are like if he can undo…but I guess we won't figure that out until the right time."

_"So our visitors knew before we did," _Heben sounded worried. _"A good thing he broke through, in that case. He would be much harder to claim, and I doubt even his innate talent can free him of it."_

"What's the next step, Boss?"

Heben broke off to talk to a police officer for a moment before replying, _"I think we would be hard-pressed to avoid involving the Li clan, but at least for today, we should probably take him home."_

Le was fond of Syaoran, but he was not quite _that _generous. "Eldest…after this blows over he'd go back to the Li clan and…" _They'd know where we live._

_"They probably would know to _look _for us sooner or later, given what has happened. He knows what we look like. Hong Kong is not so big to search when you have magic."_

_Good point._

"Looks like you get to see my brother's fancy house," The teen told Syaoran, once Heben related that he was probably going to be delayed by the police because of the accident. "Not that I expect you to be impressed. Li clan probably has fancier houses."

The boy stared up with his deep amber eyes. Le always found them to be striking, because they seemed far too profound and solemn to belong on an eleven-year-old. "My mother will wonder about me if I do not return home on time."

_That is one example of how to be a Tiger Mom._ "She'd worry about you either way. Those folks won't leave you alone just because you've broken through. Plenty of…" Well, Syaoran probably did not need to know that a lot of Yin sorcerers were not against torturing children and breaking through _to _them. This went for Yang sorcerers as well, but Yin sorcerers were like Yang sorcerers on steroids. _I am definitely seeing why Yang folks don't like us. _"…weird people out there. Anyone who encroaches on our territory…they're up to no good, and don't think the Li clan will provide much of a barrier."

"I need to tell her something in that case," Syaoran's face did not change, but Le sensed an undercurrent of fear. "She'd disown me otherwise."

_Disown an eleven-year-old?_ Le had heard of fanatical parents but seriously, Syaoran did not even start his growth spurt yet. "We'll figure something out." _If nothing else, we can try using the truth. _Or parts of the truth. Maybe his brother could figure something out. Le did not fancy exposing himself to the Li clan. Yin sorcerers might not think much of their Yang counterparts, but that did not mean a force like the Li's would not make life very aggravating.


	5. Chapter Five

Game of Souls

Chapter Five

The Yangs lived in a big house. It was only a fraction of the Li clan's property, but considering most of Hong Kong lived in apartments and it took considerable money to even be able to live in a house, a big house was actually quite impressive. It had a plain look on the outside, without the oriental touch of Chinese roofs or doors, but the inside more than made up for it. Red sandalwood furniture crafted in the style of those in the Ming dynasty, Porcelain vases, and frames of poetry which, upon closer inspection, hid incantations for blessings and protection. The spells worked whenever someone read them, and after re-reading them several times, Yang Le actually yelled out to him from across the room to stop staring.

"It gets stuffy if you do it too much," The teen warned, and when Syaoran took stock, he realized Yang Le was right. It was not magic in the traditional sense—there were no auras, but the air did seem heavier, and it was harder to breathe.

"Plus, it only works on the owners of the house. If you do it too much, they might decide to protect me and turn against you. Unlikely, given how these spells work, but let's not take that chance, alright?"

There were some clear magical items in the household. The Yangs also had a lasin board, a potted plant that somehow _exuded _age even though it looked like a sapling, a fochen hanging from the wall, another in a cabinet on display, and various knick-knacks Syaoran did not recognize.

Yang Le led him to a study, where the tomes on the shelves almost seemed sentient. He hovered in the doorway when the teenager went in, muttering under his breath. The older boy's cheerful cellphone ringtone contrasted with the heaviness of the place.

"_Wei?_" The older boy answered. "Sure. We just got here. Kid read the incantations on the walls like five million times so the house is a bit saturated. Hm?" He fell silent for a moment. "Of course it's bigger than just him. Things are always so simple and straightforward! Freaking reality is ten times more complicated than a Japanese graphic fantasy novel, with dumber people. I don't think the Grey Man would show up here though, the house is too shielded. We're also trying to figure out what to do about Li's mom. I think worrying her might be unavoidable, if we don't want the whole clan to descend on us. Just take a cab. Second? Sure, I'll give him a call. I doubt he has anything to worry about though; anyone who's in on this business would be here, not France." He fell silent again. "Alright, I'll take a look. See you later." He turned to Syaoran. "What time is it now? It's around morning, I think, in France? I need to give my brother a call."

He did this by landline, using an antiquated phone that still had wheels instead of buttons. The teen seemed use to it though, entering the number sequence without faltering even once. He gestured for Syaoran to take a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs. Syaoran sat stiffly, feeling miserably like the situation was completely beyond his control.

"Shut up, you whiner, the sun's already up on your end," Yang Le groused as a greeting, "Got a situation here." He gave a brief summary of everything that had happened. "Eldest thinks the Grey Man was warning us. Kid happened to be a convenient side-effect, but something's going down around here. We're just warning you to watch out, because even though we didn't announce to the whole world where you are, it's not exactly something we tried to keep secret. Fly back now…you have finals don't you? You're coming back in a few days anyway. I think the way things stand right now, Eldest and I can handle things, and the kid can undo setpoints like nobody's business. That's true, maybe it's just his own timeline—no, don't think so. Remember how we had to struggle? And Eldest didn't remark on that. Either way, I think we're good until you come back. Just keep a low profile, alright? Lazy—you're still lazy. Lazy. You're lazy. Lazy. Bye." He turned to Syaoran. "Do you want some tea? We're going to be here for a while."

"What are we going to do about my mother?"

Yang Le rubbed his face at this and sat down in the chair opposite Syaoran.

"Here's the deal," He began, "We don't want trouble with the Li clan, but we're pretty sure they wouldn't be too thrilled to hear we're around and have been around. Add to the fact that real Yin sorcerers are trying to hurt you, I'm not expecting them to feel generous and frankly I wouldn't blame them. If they knew you were here, and why you are here, they're going to pester me and my brothers. Don't deny it."

Syaoran was silent. He could not deny this even if he wanted to. Syaoran was young, but not stupid.

"So, we keep your situation quiet for now. They'd get worried, I'm sure, but we'll try to solve this without letting them know of _our _involvement. They'll probably hear about Yin sorcerers behaving strangely from other sources, but they don't have to know about _us _in particular. We can always figure out what to tell them down the road, but if we spill now there's no going back."

"Alright." Part of the reason Syaoran agreed so quickly was because he sensed he had been objecting a little too much, to no real point. Clearly, Yang Le was more informed than he was, and if the teen wanted to harm Syaoran, he would have done so already.

Besides, apparently Syaoran had already broken through. All in all, the terms did not sound too unreasonable.

"Great," Yang Le appeared surprised by this easy compliance. "Are you hungry? Should have taken you to the kitchen earlier but I didn't think of it considering you had been sick before."

There were less considerate allies, Syaoran decided, as the teen placed a reassuring hand at his back to guide him out of the study.

* * *

It was over an hour later when Heben finally joined them. They had both secluded themselves to the study, and Le did not even look up when Heben entered, waving at the air in a vain effort to lighten the choking atmosphere due to the over-read blessings on the walls. Syaoran was asleep.

"He's had a rough day," Le whispered, coming out so they could talk normally. "Took things well enough, considering that another Yang sorcerer would be constantly trying to kill me."

"He's eleven years old," Said Heben. "We might have to spell the entire Li clan after this."

"I was afraid of that," Le shook his head. "He agreed not to let his mom know. We turned off his cell phone, took out the batteries and everything. School's just let out, they wouldn't be calling him yet. Would call soon though, and then things will get…bad."

"From the way this house feels, we probably wouldn't have to worry about that for another week."

"Right, sorry about that. Should have warned the kid, but I forgot—you know how we take these things for granted when we're use to them—and he was trying to figure them out, I think. I would too. Smart kid."

Heben stared, unimpressed by this indirect self-compliment. "Have you found anything?"

"I haven't crossed over since he undid his setpoints. I've mostly been looking up whether there had been any hint of Yin sorcerers like Li."

"And?"

"Not a one. There was talk, though." Le handed Heben a tome. "On this page, down here, take a look."

Heben looked as indicated. "'Discumber'." He hesitated. "There is no context given to this word."

"Not much of a lead, but it does warrant attention, no?"

Heben considered the tome for a moment.

"Do we know what someone like Li might be good _for?_"

Le folded his arms. "I'm thinking it has something to do with the Sorceress."

He watched his brother's expression carefully. To his credit, Heben's face did not reveal any change.

"Why do you say that?"

Le pointed. "Someone set a setpoint here, two paragraphs later you have that word, and guess who shows up on the next page."

Heben flipped.

"What _is _her name anyway? Don't tell me her parents actually named her 'Sorceress', because that's really lame."

"The Sorceress does not give her name to anyone," His brother replied absently as he read the passage. "Names have power. I never told you her name because I do not know it."

"_No _one? _Someone _must have known."

"She might have killed all of them."

Le made a face at how carelessly Heben related that possibility. "Eldest…you think maybe she has something to do with what's going on?"

"It's not improbable." Heben looked past the teen to the room. "When is Liding coming home?"

"Uh…" A little startled by the abrupt change in topic, Le took a moment to answer. "Think it's in a week?"

"We lie low until then." Heben shut the book. "I want you home as well, keep an eye on the boy."

Le nodded. It was what he intended to do anyway, though it was nice that his brother thought along the same lines.

* * *

Once in Tomoeda, Syaoran had been wondering whether it was worth remaining in Japan for another year when the Clow Cards were all captured and nothing seemed to be going awry. Yue, the moon guardian, had showed up out of nowhere and commenced giving Syaoran the least effective pep talk he had ever heard. He told Syaoran that the boy's so-called "love" for Yukito was merely a manifestation of his moon magic been drawn to Yue's, and that he needed to stay in Japan because there was someone else Syaoran's heart belonged to. The only feature of their talk that kept Syaoran from trying to kill himself was the fact that Yue was completely and totally unaffected by the knowledge of Syaoran's affection; the guardian was neither condescending nor disgusted, regarding Syaoran's infatuation like a doctor would regard a person's runny nose.

There was a time when Syaoran was actually a bit heartbroken, though that had been brief. Even after knowing that Yukito was Yue's false form, some part of Syaoran had been unwilling to let go. In time, he had discovered Sakura's many endearing quirks, and that episode was thankfully laid to rest, almost to the point where Syaoran forgot about it.

He remembered now, because the elder Yin sorcerer had Yue's exact temperament, with the same disinterest in unnecessary social gestures. It was actually very odd to see him with his younger brother, who in contrast was outgoing and expressive. He could tell Yang Heben did not like him, that he only tolerated Syaoran because of his brother. Syaoran honestly felt likewise, and he could not help but wonder how the attraction of moon magic could be so strong that he was once uncaring of the difference between Yukito and Yue.

Thankfully, Yang Le took care of hosting, leaving Yang Heben to tend to his paperwork that he chose to take care of before going to work tomorrow.

"Please don't read the scrolls on the walls again," The teen warned, "This house is saturated enough as it is. We've got some old tomes with Yin techniques that we can practice tomorrow, because I kind of had enough of Soul Arts for today, if you don't mind. Want a game? I recently got a Playstation 2. I pestered Eldest to get me Final Fantasy and this Smash game. I guess Final Fantasy's hard to play with two people, but the Smash game I've played with my friends."

"You have friends over?" Syaoran asked.

"Pretty often, don't look at that scroll over there, that hides the magical items from normal people. Well not _hides_, it just makes it hard for them to notice. Don't read it, the house is stuffy enough."

Syaoran did not turn around to look. Yin magic, he thought, was quite strange, though he had to admit that the scrolls seemed like a good idea.

"I also only take them to one section of the house," Yang Le went on as he led Syaoran down the halls, "This section's pretty magic-free, there are some standard scrolls to prevent burglars and such, and other intruders, but they read like regular poems."

Syaoran found this a little annoying. "Why do you have so many scrolls hanging on your walls?"

Yang Le only shrugged, as if this were completely normal. "The Li clan does not?"

"We have less…" He was not sure how to say it. "I mean, our protections do not depend on someone reading calligraphy. They're just there."

"Yang magic does tend to be in your face," Yang Le nodded. "Hard to build, easy to destroy. I guess these scrolls are easy to destroy too, in a way. Not that I would encourage it. One thing about having multiple scrolls—the spells kind of help maintain each other."

The teen did bring out a game console and spent several minutes setting up the television. Syaoran was not in the mood to play—he had never played such games before, but once Yang Le set about teaching him the controls, the mindless bashing on the screen and loud noises did serve to distract Syaoran from his current predicament.

_What a predicament._

Yang Heben called on them about an hour later to stop the game so they could have dinner. It turned out, the elder Yang cooked, despite his busy schedule. Yang Le behaved as if this were normal, though he also hinted that he cooked himself. The three of them sat in a huge dining hall, with the teen making most of the conversation. Yang Heben seemed content to ignore his brother and his guest. Syaoran used the opportunity to study the man. Stern, not unattractive, cold. Just like Yue. He mused that if the guardian ever met this fellow, their interaction would either be very interesting, or very dull.

The phone rang in the middle of their meal, to Yang Le's annoyance. Yang Heben went to answer it.

"Telemarketers," Yang Le groaned, "Sooner or later, there should be a spell to ward such calls away. That would be one of the more useful contributions to mankind."

"Are you alright?" The elder Yang's voice cut in, and the teen abruptly stopped speaking.

Syaoran looked in the man's direction.

"Are you _certain _they did not notice you?"

A long pause followed. Yang Le was chewing on a vegetable, and he swallowed and stopped moving.

"How many exams do you have left?"

Yang Heben turned, and this time Syaoran could hear muffled words from the phone. He thought he heard _"Friday__," _but could not be certain. There were more words coming from the phone, and the elder Yang frowned as the person on the other end spoke.

"I don't like it. Come home at once. I will send a letter to your dean. You can make up your exams next semester."

The other person made some kind of protest, which had Yang Heben frowning even more.

"He's a Yang sorcerer, he's not going to want to cooperate with you. Besides, he split his powers earlier. That was one reason he went to Tomoeda."

Syaoran blinked. _They are not talking about Hiirigaziwa, are they?_

"The guardians are only as powerful as their master. I don't want to get him involved, it's bad enough that we have to tip-toe around the Li clan somehow."

_"He's already involved, and he has relics that would be safer to use than an airplane."_

Yang Heben was silent.

Yang Le cursed next to Syaoran. "What's going on with these people?"

"Can you steal them?" Yang Heben asked.

There was a pause, before a muffled reply.

"If there's trouble, I'll find a way to summon you here."

They exchanged a few more words before the elder Yang hung up.

"What happened?" Yang Le asked.

"You know a Hiirigaziwa Eriol?"

"Clow Reed's reincarnation?"

"He was involved in a scuffle with a group of Yin sorcerers about two hours ago."

Yang Le's jaw dropped. "That's aiming high. Was he claimed?"

"No. According to Liding, it was two opposing factions. Hiirigaziwa just happened to stumble in on one of their disagreements. Liding managed to get a non-magical police officer to go in and break it up. They disbanded because he had his radio on."

The teen whistled. "That was close! Did anyone suspect him?"

"No, Liding said no one knew he was even there. He was shielded, and he didn't sense anyone probing him. Hiirigaziwa apparently went back to his own business."

"What was he doing in France? I thought he's in England."

"The United Kingdom is a tiny place. Most European countries are. It's rather easy for them to cross borders when they're not fighting."

"So the Yin sorcerers are acting up in Europe too. Is Second coming home?"

"He's going to try to steal an item from Hiirigaziwa's household so he can teleport over here. It's too dangerous for him to take a plane, given our circles. Someone might curse him, and our young friend here wouldn't be able to undo a setpoint a quarter of the world away."

Syaoran blinked.

"There's something up," Said Yang Le, "There are no coincidences. First Li Syaoran, then Hiirigaziwa Eriol. Both related to Clow Reed. I think whatever this is, might be related to _him_."

"Or what our family did for him," Yang Heben said gravely.

Syaoran finally could not stand it. "What exactly did your family do for him?" He demanded. "Yang Le-ge told me that you had something to do with why the Clow Cards didn't stay with my family."

"What _did _we do?" Yang Le asked.

"We ensured that the cards would go to Kinomoto Sakura," The elder Yang replied.

"Clow Reed went to _you _for that?" Syaoran blinked, and a sudden anger swept over him. "Were you responsible for the bell as well?"

The Final Judgment was designed by a _necromancer?_

"I don't know the details," Yang Heben replied impassively.

Syaoran glanced down, clenching his fists. It did him no good to lose his temper in the home of his rescuers, but the knowledge that the Yin sorcerers had a hand in—he suddenly could not think.

"Wait, so Clow Reed sought the help of Yin sorcerers…there any chance he doesn't hate us?"

"You know it doesn't work that way. And actually, we apparently have more of a reason to hate Clow Reed."

"We do?"

Yang Heben did not say any more. It suited Syaoran just fine. He was having a hard time holding in tears.

* * *

_"Your letters haven't seemed very happy."_

Sakura was enveloped in a slight pink glow, but it was difficult to tell whether it was her magical aura, or the setting sun. The wind blew at the swing she sat on, lifting her slightly up. Syaoran sat next to her, looking at her only with his peripheral vision. For some reason, looking directly at her required too much effort.

_"I wanted to call you, hear your voice," _Sakura went on, _"But your letters were so distant, I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk to me."_

Honestly, Syaoran did not want to talk to Sakura. He dearly wished to talk to her, but he did not want to talk to her. Strange, how one could feel such opposite feelings at the same time.

_"Are you…pulling away?" _Sakura asked, and he could see the sparkle of her green eyes as she looked at him. _"Are you leaving? I mean, you've left, but I thought…"_

He was not entirely aware that this was a dream, but there were things he did when he was sleeping that he would never do when he was awake.

_"I don't know how we'll talk now," _He said quietly, _"With this latest business with the Yin sorcerers…they're after me and I have to go into hiding, even from my own family."_

The dream had a relaxed, dampened quality to it, at least from his end. Sakura, however, seemed to tighten at this.

_"What do you mean, Syaoran-kun?"_

Syaoran lifted the swing a little by pressing his feet against the ground. He swung a little before replying.

_"You're Yang sorcerers. You change the physical realm. Yin sorcerers control the spiritual realm. Not necessarily ghosts, but…souls. It use to be thought that they control ghosts, control the dead. I don't know if that's false, but I do know they are powerful, and people are afraid of them. They hate them. And they're right. And they're after me, because…"_ Even in a dream, he could not tell this girl that he was a Yin sorcerer himself. _"I've gone into hiding with two brothers. They're Yin sorcerers too, but I don't really have much of a choice. And…" _He sighed. _"I don't know what my family would do, if they ever found out about me. They might disown me." _

_"…Why would they disown you? And what's this about Yin sorcerers?"_

Syaoran did not answer. He kicked at the ground again to start the swing once more. Sakura had stopped swinging and seemed to be listening intently to him. Had he been more awake, he would have felt uncomfortable. Now, he just felt resigned.

_"I feel like my life…I feel like my life is falling apart. That it was never really…that everything I had worked for, up till now, was all a lie. And now I'm looking at myself, and everything is alien, completely unfamiliar, as if they were all just an illusion and I'm only now seeing them for what they are. My family, my home. The only thing that was ever real was you. And Tomoeda, I guess" _He stopped swinging, _"But even that might have been false too."_

Clow Reed went to a Yin sorcerer to ensure Syaoran would never have the Clow Cards. He was not sure why this fact bothered him so much, but it hurt somehow. It felt like no one was really looking out for him, except Yang Le, who knew him for all of a few months and was a Yin sorcerer. He still could not wrap his mind around it sometimes.

_"That's not true!" _Sakura exclaimed, _"We were real! Our friendship was real! And the friends you made here, we're all real! I don't know what is going on in Hong Kong, but I met your mother and I know she loves you. Why would—why would you even…?"_

Syaoran was suddenly struck with the realization that for all of Sakura's empathy, she really had only a limited insight into the problems people faced. The very trait that allowed her to insist on seeing the good in people, that had endeared Syaoran to her, was also a trait that made her incredibly naïve, and at times useless as a confidant.

He finally looked at her, deciding to say what he would have thought better of saying had he been awake.

_"When I lost the Final Judgment and you won, it really hurt," _He confessed. _"I was happy for you. You deserved it. You had all the qualities worthy of being a Card Mistress. But it still hurt, because you had everything I worked so hard for, sacrificed so much for, but you had them so effortlessly in comparison and you hardly sacrificed anything other than sleep and time. It hurt a lot. Sometimes, it feels like you stole my dream from me, even though I know that's not true. And after coming back to China, I realized I've been working for something that had no chance of coming true, ever_._ Somehow, that hurts worse," _He wondered why she seemed so stricken, though perhaps it was only logical. _"Now I feel like…everything I do, anything I put effort to, might wind up ending the same way. Destined for someone else. I wish there were something good that's meant for _me, _but I don't know if there is, really. Maybe I'm destined to just be mediocre…and I don't know what's worth working for anymore.__" _He shrugged, _"I don't want to feel that kind of disappointment again."_

She was silent. Syaoran kicked at the ground to keep swinging. The sun set.

* * *

_That was a weird dream,_ Syaoran decided the next morning. Yang Heben was the only one up at this early hour. He gave Syaoran a look when the boy came out of his room.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked.

Syaoran nodded. "Yes, sir." Yang Le had found him an old set of pajamas, and the guest beds were comfortable enough.

"Good," The elder Yang nodded. "My brother might need a few more hours before he gets up. You have free range of the house, provided you don't touch anything you don't recognize. Just don't leave. The protections around this place only extend to the house itself."

He was getting ready to leave, picking up his briefcase.

"Thank you," Syaoran managed to say, feeling very discomfited around this man.

Heben did not acknowledge him, heading out and locking the door with a few brisk clicks.

Syaoran covered his face. Even with Yang Le's hospitality, he still felt like an intruder with how cold Yang Heben was. This was the elder Yang's home, after all.

_Being a refugee is awful._ He took a deep breath and looked in the direction of the younger Yang's room. _Well, try to make the best of it._ One thing the odd dream featuring Sakura did remind him about was the role of positivity. There were certainly worse circumstances to be in. He could easily have already been claimed by that Landon person. He doubted he would be treated so well by _him_. And there were certainly worse hosts than Yang Le.

_That's right, Li Syaoran, keep thinking that way. _Focus on the bright side. It was probably the key to Sakura's success, in the end. _Besides, since you're up and Yang Le isn't, you might as well try to help yourself and spare them doing all the work._ There were some interesting books in the library, maybe ones the Li clan did not even have.

With that in mind, Syaoran marched off in the direction of the tomes.


	6. Chapter Six

Game of Souls

Chapter Six

The "other" realm, as Syaoran started to call it in his head, was much easier to tolerate now that he had "broken through". After following a series of steps on a beginner's guide he had dug out of the shelves, he was able to slip into the realm easily. It was a little discomfiting to look around; he still had a little more trouble orienting himself to space and time, but he no longer felt sick to his stomach, and it was actually interesting to see everything laid out, the many possible futures stacked and multiplying at branch points. He could also see different destinies crossing over sometimes, the many friends who were over at Yang's residence in the past and in the possible futures. Some stayed overlapped for a while. Others crossed only briefly and separated soon after. His own destiny was taken out of the equation, a line of emptiness now that there were no setpoints or timepoints placed in his timeline.

Curious, Syaoran looked back. He had existed before stepping out of the real world, so his past was still woven in the great weave of reality. He saw his life cross over with Yang Le's, and even saw Yang Le contemplating him in the library for a while, before making the decision to introduce himself. There was actually a setpoint, not actually in Syaoran's timeline, but sort of beside it. Syaoran looked at the book he brought with him, but when he flipped through the pages, he could not find any passage that explained how to interpret such things.

Since these events were in the past, Syaoran could do nothing permanent with them. He was able to unravel the setpoint for inspection, using his magical aura like long fingers to open the setpoint for better view. It took a little bit of concentration, but the realm was strange in that all magic seemed _different _somehow, a little off-balance, so Syaoran was never quite sure what any magical action would do. In this case, it turned out everything seemed a little enhanced, a little faster than he was use to. He wondered if this would be the case every time.

There was one limitation to this realm, and it was that he could only see the timelines of people who would ever be in the same physical location he was in. He was able to see himself and Yang Le because they were both in the house, and he was also able to see Yang Heben and even an older teenager, whom Syaoran guessed was the second brother, Yang Liding. He could also see the friends Yang Le had before and after, and one extraordinarily beautiful woman who might have been the Sorceress—if she were, Syaoran had a feeling half of her so-called "magic" might have been from looks alone—but he could not see anyone who would never step foot in the house. This included Sakura and all his friends in Tomoeda. He also could not see events unfold the way they would if he were present in the real world; from the real world's perspective, Li Syaoran had suddenly ceased to exist.

It was very confusing.

Shortly after returning from the "other" world, Yang Le's footsteps resonated in the hall, before the teen poked his head into the library.

"Way too early to be experimenting, Xiaoli," He exclaimed, "How long were you in there?"

"How did you know I was experimenting?" Syaoran asked, putting down the book and wondering if he did something wrong.

"I felt you leave and come back." The older boy stepped into the room. His hair was even messier than Syaoran's, a chaos of red strands sticking up in every direction. He really did look like a rooster, Syaoran mused. "Once you're entirely in that realm, time here stops from your perspective, but as long as part of you is in both, time actually moves in synchronism, if you catch my drift. So while you're passing from this world to that, for the duration of your passage, time flows at the same rate, and people like us can sense that if we're physically within range. That was how I was able to catch you at the bookstore, and later at the school. Otherwise I'd be kind of frozen here, and those lunatics would have all the time in the world. Know what I mean?"

Syaoran thought for a moment, before nodding. He supposed that did make sense.

"You shouldn't stay in that realm too long, it's not good for even people like us," Yang Le came into the study to sit down across from Syaoran. "How long were you there?"

Syaoran glanced at the clock, before remembering that it would not be useful. "I think I was in there for only about…twenty minutes, at most. I was just looking around. I didn't want to wake you."

"That's fine," Yang Le waved. "Twenty minutes is nothing. I was afraid you were in there for hours. Some of the things we do take that long, but usually you need to build up a tolerance for it first. Have you eaten yet? Don't tell me you went there on an empty stomach!"

Yang Le quickly rectified the situation.

"When will Heben-Ge return from work?" Syaoran asked over the steaming porridge.

"He usually works late," Said Yang Le. "We have the house to ourselves until then. Honestly, he usually comes home after I go to bed, and I'm not exactly an 'early to bed early to rise' kind of person."

Syaoran absorbed this information for a moment. "I see."

"Eat up, you're going to need it. We'll wait like another hour after you're done for you to digest a little, and then I'll start a quick crash course in Soul Arts," Yang Le tilted his head. "I've never taught anyone, so this can go either really well or really badly. We'll see what happens though."

Syaoran had no choice but to nod. "What about the others?" He could not help but inquire, "I can't stay here forever."

"Once Second's here, we'll have a little more flexibility in what to do."

Syaoran inhaled and exhaled. He really hoped the second Yang's arrival would mark the start of progress soon. He did not fancy staying at the Yang residence forever as a refugee.

* * *

"You've been quiet today," Tomoyo observed, her voice quiet and almost blending in with the bustle of the cafeteria. "Is something bothering you?"

Sakura picked at her lunch. "I had a dream last night."

"…Is it a premonition?"

"I don't know. It didn't feel like one. Not one of the usual ones with the cards, anyway…but it didn't feel like a normal dream either."

The dark-haired girl blinked. "What was it about?"

"…Syaoran-kun," Sakura sighed unhappily. "He and I were sitting at the swings in Penguin Park. He seemed different. Darker. Sadder. I asked him if he's pulling away. You know how his letters have been…really short. And it might just be him but I always felt like there was something more to it." She frowned. "He said some things in the dream…he said some things I know Syaoran-kun wouldn't say, so I'm not sure if it was really him. They didn't really sound like him either. The tone was off, so maybe I was just imagining it…but I couldn't help think about what he said."

"What did he say?"

"He said he feels like I stole his dream from him." Sakura looked at her cousin, worrying her lip. "Did I? I mean, the Clow Cards were from _his _family. _He _was the descendant of Clow Reed. And he's trained to capture them and master them."

"But he lost the Final Judgment. You won."

"I didn't win without help," Sakura wavered, "I had Mizuki-san's help. No one was there to help him."

"But Clow Reed intended to pass them down to you anyway. You saw it when you used the Return Card, back when Eriol-kun was here."

"He said something about that too. I never told him everything about the conversation I had with Clow Reed." Sakura ran her fingers through her hair. "I guess I never thought about his feelings, all this time. He always seemed happy enough, and everyone else—Kero-chan, Yue-san, they all acted like everything was fine. I never considered that he might have been…upset about losing, until the dream last night. I'm just running through what he said, over and over and over again in my head, and I feel like I should have thought of it sooner. He just never seemed bothered, so I thought he wasn't bothered…but I wonder if he's actually upset, or maybe his family is, and that's why he doesn't write too much. His letters are always so short, as if he has nothing to say to me anymore."

"He has no right to be upset with you," Tomoyo frowned, "It's not like any of it was your fault. You had as much right to win as he does, more, considering Clow Reed intended to pass the cards down to you. If he has a problem with that, well, that's his problem, not yours."

"I don't think he blames _me_," Sakura said sadly, "But you can still be disappointed in yourself. He said in the dream that recently he learned that he had been working for something that he had no chance of getting, ever, and now he's wondering if it's worth putting effort into anything anymore, because it hurt so much to be disappointed and he doesn't want to go through that again." She sighed again, this time frustrated. "I don't know if the fact that he recently learned this was true, but what he said _was _true: he never had a chance, because Clow Reed wanted _me _to have the cards. And if he really felt that way…I just can't believe I never considered that he might have been upset with himself. I never even asked. I was so wrapped up in my own victory that I didn't even think about the fact that he lost, and he _did _work hard, easily as hard as I did, maybe even more. I mean, he came here to a new country, all by himself, and had to adapt to a new culture…only to go home with nothing but my teddy bear." She buried her face in her hands. "Kami-sama, I've been such an _idiot_."

"Don't say that," Tomoyo sounded sympathetic, but also uncertain, "He obviously didn't want you to feel this way, otherwise why would he act like nothing's wrong? And it's not like you're the only person he's friends with. None of us really saw anything worth worrying about. Besides, you said it didn't really sound like him, maybe it really was just a dream, and you're just…projecting your own worries onto him."

"I guess," Sakura muttered, still dissatisfied. "But now I'm wondering if I really should call, just to set things right between us. Maybe set things right with his mom too, just in case. He seemed kind of intimidated by her, when we visited Hong Kong. What if he's upset because _she's _blaming him? i should at least talk to them."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Tomoyo said gently. "Maybe call him tonight? We're in the same timezone, I think, so it shouldn't be a problem. We can use my landline. Oka-san wouldn't mind."

"I think I'll do that," Sakura nodded grimly.

* * *

_"Boarding call for Jeanne Blanchard, Jeanne Blanchard please report to Gate 5…"_

Kaho was very quiet, Eriol noticed. She was hardly the rowdy sort, the way Nakuru was, but her silence had a heavy quality that he could not help noticing. He hesitated, taking stock of the waiting area where people sat with their luggage, looking bored. For now, there were no children at their gate, though there were small families passing down the halls, many of them sleepy, with drooped shoulders and bowed heads.

"Is something on your mind?" He asked.

Kaho did not answer immediately. "I feel uneasy," She finally admitted.

There was another announcement, this time in French. Something about reminding passengers to keep track of their belongings.

"There is an unrest in the air," Eriol agreed. "We will look into it when we return home."

She turned her head away. "I am reluctant to board the plane."

Eriol glanced at the screens, which showed the time to be almost four in the morning. Thirty minutes till boarding. Kaho had never demonstrated a fear of planes before.

"Is there a specific reason?"

"No. Just a vague disquiet."

He sat a little straighter, saying no more. Kaho was not the most powerful sorceress he had ever come across, but her senses were very keen, and she had the added bonus of a woman's intuition. Not something to be underestimated, Eriol had learned over the years, both from the memories of Clow Reed and his own. He closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, settling into a meditative trance. The same one that allowed him to detect the release of the Clow Cards, and the subsequent transfer of ownership.

_Something is going on…w__hat is it?_

It had been months since he laid Clow Reed's legacy to rest. After leaving Tomoeda, Eriol had been looking ahead to starting a new life, free from the burdens of the ancient sorcerer. With a new master of the cards, he was no longer responsible for the book's welfare or its guardians. He had faith that Kinomoto Sakura would do just fine. The summer that passed was almost like a dream; he and Kaho did not go anywhere in particular, but it was nice to be able to relax at home, sitting inside as the warm rain showered outside, and just…do _nothing_.

It was not until autumn when Eriol chose to stir from their seclusion. Being free of the man his soul once was meant that he could take care of his own affairs. The world moved on, and there was always something to be done, problems to be solved. One of his friends, Louis Molineaux, had been attempting to finalize a project he started many years ago, an attempt to breed a certain kind of sentient plant that had been dwindling in population over the years. It was a dull, droll, simple affair that Eriol had been all too eager to be involved with. Kaho came along when they visited Molineaux to purchase some Parisian goods, and in all, it was a very enjoyable trip. He had looked forward to going home with Kaho with nothing more on his mind.

But there was a problem, and as he stretched his senses out more, an old, faded memory flickered into awareness. Eriol was resigned to the fact that he would never be free of Clow Reed's memories, but it was still alarming when something triggered it after the cards were settled. He saw the man—he saw _himself_, rather, sitting opposite a man that looked…Indo-European, with a shock of ginger hair that was far redder than even Nakuru's. A woman emerged—his wife, an Asian woman that looked reminiscent of Clow's own mother.

The atmosphere was tense. He was in their home, and they were treating him as a guest, but none of them were happy about it. The wife offered him tea, which he did not drink. The husband, dressed in dark silk, sat watching him as the wife retreated.

When he spoke, it was not in Chinese. Clow Reed's memories identified the language as…Tocharian.

Whatever that was.

_"Our guest arrives from distant lands," _He murmured, _"Surely, it is for no trivial reason."_

_"It is not trivial to me," _Clow Reed replied, though he replied in Latin, _"I come to seek aid on a matter close to my heart."_

_"Indeed? And what matter might that be, to brave the lengths of the Silk Road just to seek our humble persons?"_

Clow Reed clenched his jaw. _"From your words, honored host,_ _the nature of this matter is clear to both of us."_

The other man folded his hands together. _"It must be dear indeed. However, I wonder if our guest is truly aware of what is being asked. Spells of the spirit realm are far more costly than any physical magic, and the influence of Destiny is far more widespread than can be comprehended by the mortal mind."_

Clow looked him in the eye. _"I chose to seek you, honored host, precisely because it was said that you are careful."_

_"Care does not undo the consequences, if the magnitude of a choice is great. There is a price for meddling with the will of Fate." _

_"Then you will not help me?"_

It was the wife who answered Clow. _"We did not get where we are through inaction, honored guest. The greater the power one wields, the more crucial is the reason, and the willingness to bear the result, whatever they may be. Chaos is how the universe tends to seek. To implement order through the lines of time requires greater chaos elsewhere. That has always been the rule of things. For each certainty, one must purchase unpredictability, often to one's detriment. This rule affects us all. Though we weave the lines of time, even we are not exempt."_

Eriol's eyes opened.

Necromancers. He knew that Clow Reed had sought necromancers, but the situation right now, it resembled necromancy. That feeling in the air, an undercurrent of _something else_, not quite magic, not quite physical.

Destiny.

He had sensed the same thing when the Clow Cards were released, and when he received the signal to go to Tomoeda. Could it be related? But the Clow Cards were settled, all transformed into Sakura Cards. That arc had been laid to rest. Surely, after thousands of years, there could not be more side-effects?

_But just because the main purpose is complete does not mean the story has ended. _Not to mention, what he was sensing might be the start of a whole new unrelated problem.

Feeling the need to move from his seat, Eriol rose, giving Kaho a silent look so she knew to look after their belongings. He glanced around, looking for any sign that said _"Toilettes"_. Maybe a splash of cold water would help.

_"…répond."_

Eriol turned his head at the word, and caught the flash of a face he had seen before. The previous afternoon, he had come across a group of people who appeared to be arguing. They were dressed rather inconspicuously, but the way they all stared at him as soon as they noticed he was present reminded him of how American gangs were portrayed in films. The man now, a blonde, blue-eyed fellow with a square bulk and a cleft chin, had possessed one of the more memorable faces.

He was on his cell phone, so he did not notice Eriol. Eriol drew quickly behind a crowd of people.

He had not considered that the French group he stumbled into might have been magical. A police officer had appeared before things could get out of hand, and Eriol was sent on his way. There were not a lot of people who could hide their magic from Eriol. In fact, once upon a time, there had not been any. He wondered if halving his powers could have had such an impact, though?

_But even at your peak, you could never sense a necromancer._

Not good. Eriol hurried back to where Kaho was waiting for him. A dark warning flickered in his mind. _She did not want to get on the plane._

_"C'est bien lui!"_

Eriol tilted his head just so. He did not see anything out of the ordinary, but the warning flared. Obeying his instincts, he slid his hand into his pocket. There could be time to undo the damage later, but he had to leave, _now_.

His fingers closed around the talisman, and he uttered the activation spell. _"Gui."_

The airport vanished. The interior of his mansion materialized around him. It was quiet and dark, the lights were out, and the moon was obscured behind the clouds. The wind blew, and as it did there was a splatter against the window. It was raining in England.

Eriol took out his cell phone, quickly searching for Kaho's number, intending to tell her to use the talisman as well. Before he could call, however, there was a flicker of magic, and Kaho materialized next to him, luggage in tow.

"What happened?" She asked.

Eriol took her by the arm, needing to touch her and feel that she was real. "I am not certain," He admitted, "But I fear the worst."

"What is that?"

Lightning flashed, followed by thunder.

"Necromancers," He said to her.

She was silent for a moment.

"I did not realize they still exist," She said at last.

"They are harder to get rid of then you think," Eriol replied grimly. "Power is a draw without equal. Clow Reed had dealings with them before."

It had ended poorly, from what Eriol could remember. Clow Reed never trusted the necromancers, and the necromancers never trusted him either. It was actually difficult to discern who was in the wrong, or who was more in the wrong, since both most certainly were. In the end, Clow Reed _had _walked away with everything he wanted, while the Yangs had paid the price for "crossing" him, even though Clow Reed had been the one to approach them first. Clow had never seemed contrite about that though, and Eriol did not feel more sympathetic. Necromancy was dangerous, and anyone who chose to practice it either did not understand that fact, or did not care.

"Let me give Louis a call," Eriol sighed, "We're going to need his help cleaning up the mess at the airport. Then we will figure out what to do."

He thought he saw a shadow obscure what little ambient light there was from the window, but on closer inspection, it was just some bushes flickering in the downpour. Turning on the light properly, he made for his phone.

This was probably not going to go over well.

* * *

Li Syaoran, to Le's surprise, picked things up _very _quickly. So quickly, the two of them were both frightened.

"Alright, we need to make a few rules for you," Le told the boy as soon as they returned to the real world, "You only make setpoints if it's an emergency. Which means almost never. If you make setpoints with consequences you can't foresee, then—" He used a rather uncouth phrase at first, before remembering that he was talking to an eleven-year-old. "…Uh…"

"I get it," Syaoran waved a hand. "I don't like the idea of messing with people's destinies anyway." He shuddered. "I'm not sure I like Soul Arts period." He was unable to meet Le's eyes.

"Right." Le wished Syaoran's impression was not quite _that _negative, but it suited his purposes for now.

They broke for lunch, the two of them eating in silence. Syaoran seemed distracted, and Le found it awkward to ask the child what was plaguing him so. He seemed more depressed than usual. Granted, there were a lot of things to be anxious about right now, but there seemed to be some kind of profound pain, deeper than what one would normally find in an eleven-year-old.

_Is it his mom?_

There was a sudden shift of magic, which Le recognized as the sign of someone entering or exiting the spirit realm. He slid into the spirit realm to halt time, but saw that it was actually his second brother stepping _out_.

"That was quick," Le exclaimed once he returned. Syaoran, being a novice, was not quick enough to react as quickly as Le did, but he looked noticeably relieved to see that Liding looked similar to Le, and probably drew the connection between them. "No trouble?"

"No immediate trouble," Liding tossed a talisman onto the table. It was an odd-looking figurine, made of some kind of white jade. _Rare, those things,_ Le picked it up to examine. It was smooth and warm to the touch, not unpleasant to hold. "No one saw me there. Got in, got out. However, Hiiragizawa knows something is up. Some idiot must have spooked him, he jumped from the French airport to England with a homebound talisman. His timelines almost all point to him flying to this side. Some of them even to Hong Kong, if he gets a call from someone. A lot of them to Hong Kong."

Le stared. "Huh. I can't say that I didn't see that one coming, to be honest. Eldest and I were just saying last night, this business might involve Clow Reed."

"Considering his descendant's supposed to be one of us?" Liding looked at Syaoran, "That's irony if I've ever seen it."

This reminded Le that he had to make introductions. Liding had brought along some European chocolate, which he gave to Syaoran. The boy looked stunned.

"Really glad I brought that back," Said Liding.

"You brought your chocolate stash for the finals _with_ you when you were _stealing_ from Hiiragizawa? You're such a _loser_, Second."

"Punk," Liding made a face. Le had a feeling his brother originally intended to keep the stash for himself, but something must have made him change his mind. Liding was always a bit odd that way, clever in a way that defied logic. Le always attributed this to him being the "middle" sibling. As far as stereotypes went, the Yangs had everything to the letter; boring responsible eldest brother, wily and charismatic middle brother, blissfully spoiled youngest brother. "Besides, I had so much left, and it was either going to come with me or go to my roommate. Deepak eats so much of my stuff as it is that I'm half-tempted to sprinkle bits of beef on _everything _just so he can go buy his own food for once."

"That sounds disgusting."

"So is licking everything, but I tried that once and the guy just went ahead and ate it. And he has the immune system of Wolverine."

"Wait, he was Hindu but he was alright with your spit? That makes _no _sense. If the world runs out of cows it would be because of you."

"I actually didn't eat that much beef in France. Mad cows," Liding looked around. "Man, it's been too long, I can't believe I'm forgetting where the phone is. I need to call Eldest and tell him I'm here."

"Sounds like a good idea," Le moved to step near Syaoran, who was still looking at the chocolate. "Ew. Dark chocolate. Why are you such a girl, Second?"

"Brat," Liding called back, "You don't know what's good stuff, you'd eat dirt brownies if someone sprinkled enough sugar in it."

"Mother of—" Le grimaced, as Liding slipped out of sight, "Now I am associating cocoa with dirt. Thanks a _lot_, Second!"

* * *

"Mr. Clemens called, Sir, he's confirmed the meeting at ten-o-clock today."

"Very good," Heben did not bother looking at her, instead checking his watch. He had two hours. He needed to finish up a final series of paperwork and read one more report from yesterday. His secretary handed him a cup of coffee.

He took his coat off to hang over his chair. His secretary had left some letters on his desk. There was something from a Japanese CEO, written in English for the benefit of communication. Something else from a different American, and a few more reports from the various departments. He set those aside to turn on his computer, taking a sip of his coffee.

Liding's flight should have taken him to England by now. He glanced at his cell, but there was no call. Once he logged into his computer, he checked his email before taking out the files from his briefcase. He was at work. Until one of his brothers called, he really should focus…

_"Excuse me, is there something you need?"_

_"I'm here to see Mr. Yang."_

_"I don't recall seeing an appointment. May I have your name, please?"_

_"Names have power. You know better than that."_

Heben barely managed to rise out of his chair when a flare of magic flashed. The atmosphere twisted as someone slipped into the spirit realm. Heben set down the coffee as he followed.

The other sorcerer—sorcer_ess_, if the voice he heard was anything to gauge by—was half a second faster than him. He emerged in the spirit realm just in time to see her step past the office door. A blonde, blue-eyed Slavic-looking woman who looked to be in her early thirties. She was tall like a model, dressed in a lady's suit with a veiled hat over her face.

"I thought so," She murmured in English, "Heben Yang does not disappoint."

Heben was half-tempted to yank her back out, but that would require some explaining to his secretary, though was she even conscious right now? That flash of magic before had been a physical spell, right before the sorceress entered the spirit realm.

"You better have an explanation for this, or I will be disappointed," He returned, glaring at her.

"English is not half-bad either," She smirked. "This should be interesting."

She tossed something up in the air, and before Heben could react, the world around them brightened, whiter than the sun—

And then Heben knew nothing.


	7. Chapter Seven

Game of Souls

Chapter Seven

"This is unlike him."

Yang Le had originally been lounging on a couch, holding a small bottle of juice in one hand the way one might hold a bottle of beer. Yang Liding hung up the phone and dialed again, turning the wheel with the same ease his younger brother did. Syaoran looked at the florid designs and mused that modern things, be they phones or furniture or art, seemed much less intricate and artistic than older versions.

The second Yang waited for a long moment before hanging up.

"Eldest is not answering, and neither is his secretary."

"Maybe they went out for some coffee," Syaoran remarked, though he did not believe it himself.

"Let me see what he is up to," Yang Le offered. Syaoran sensed him leave and return instantly.

"…I can't find him."

Yang Liding and Yang Le stared at each other for a moment.

"What do you mean, you can't find him?" The second Yang asked.

"What I said. I can't find him."

"What does his—"

"I mean his timeline, everything, it's taken out. I don't see him leaving this house this morning. I don't see him coming home later. He's gone."

Syaoran looked between the brothers.

"That's not possible. Eldest can't be claimed. He's not only broken through, he's powerful."

"This seems like someone set a setpoint on us."

That did not sound good, but Liding remarked, "I hope that is it."

Syaoran stared. "Why?"

The two brothers did not reply.

"You two, stay here," Yang Liding ordered, "I'm heading over to his place, see what's going on."

"Wait, you can't just go over there alone! This house is protected, what if whoever got him is waiting for _you_?"

"Well what do you suggest?"

"Right now we don't know what's out there! And whatever is out there might have gotten Eldest!"

They fell silent again.

Yang Le suddenly snatched a chocolate from Syaoran's stash, which was actually Yang Liding's stash before he gave it to Syaoran, and tossed a packet to his brother. The elder Yang caught it and started opening it.

"We have two choices. Both of them are awful. Either you head over there in the spirit realm, or we make our own setpoints here."

"It will take forever for me to make my way to Eldest's office in the spirit realm," Yang Liding blanched. Syaoran recalled how confusing the spirit realm was arranged and had to agree. It was possible to move a certain distance and emerge a couple of blocks away from the point of entry, but even when he had been led by Yang Le, it seemed to have taken a while. He had no idea where Yang Heben lived, but it seemed like the eldest Yang had to drive there. It was certainly no trip to make on foot, and unless they had an item, there was no way to make it there quickly. He looked at the jade, but he knew talismans like this one often had to recharge after each use, the time needed depending on the distance of the transport. A jump from England to Hong Kong would require a good while.

"So we make our own setpoint."

Silence fell.

"We have to do something, Second. We're blind, here."

"We'd be making setpoints blind if we do it." That appeared to be what was troubling Yang Liding the most. "Any one of us goes into the spirit realm, we take ourselves out of the equation. Once we come back, we're going to cause side-effects."

Yang Le gestured at Syaoran. "We have a kid who can unravel setpoints really easily."

"Do we know if he can unravel _everything _easily? Or is it just his own? We don't know what he is!"

Yang Le glanced at Syaoran. "Well what other options do we have?"

Yang Liding took a bite of chocolate. It was a huge gulp, one that had Syaoran a little bit amazed—even when he was at his most ravenous, he had never taken such a huge bite out of a chocolate bar before. Such things were to be savored; the second Yang seemed to be regarding the treat as a direly-needed meal.

"If Heben-Ge is claimed," Syaoran broke in, "Perhaps we do need to make setpoints, to protect ourselves. After all, he can create setpoints for whoever claimed him."

"He can't be claimed. It's too absurd. It takes too much energy to claim a Yin sorcerer."

"Then what…" Syaoran shook his head. He honestly still did not quite understand this new brand of magic. "Why would his timeline disappear?"

Yang Liding pressed his knuckle to his head in thought. "Setpoint, preventing us from seeing it—that's slightly less likely than a claim, but it's possible."

"What about one of the…others," Yang Le looked at his brother.

Syaoran stared. "What 'others'?"

"You're saying that humans aren't the only ones involved in whatever's happening?"

"Wait, _what_?" Syaoran shot to his feet, "You're saying—"

"That would be _very _bad," Yang Liding shook his head, "And frankly, I don't know what we would do if we're fighting against all of _them._ Let's just assume, for now, that humans are the only ones involved."

"What _others_?" Syaoran demanded.

Yang Le reached over to pull Syaoran back down.

"Did the Sorceress leave anything that we might be able to use in this situation?" He asked his brother.

"I'm not sure."

"She left us a log of all the things we were supposed to keep." Yang Le started rubbing Syaoran's arm, as if trying to reassure him. He was very subdued now, talking in a voice that seemed far too calm for the situation. "Maybe she anticipated that we are going to run into this. I mean, Clow Reed crossed paths with our ancestors long ago, and here's Clow Reed's descendant. Maybe she foresaw that we will need some help."

"It's better than making setpoints," Yang Liding agreed, turning around. Yang Le stood as well, gesturing at Syaoran to follow.

Syaoran wondered what it was about setpoints that made even the necromancers so reluctant to use them. He knew that stepping into the spirit realm removed their perception of their own involvement with the physical world, but surely it could not be so great a hindrance?

* * *

Sakura chose to call Hong Kong an hour after she got home from school. She anticipated that perhaps Syaoran might be in the library, since his previous mentioned something about studying with some Yang Le. She would have waited a bit longer, but she felt a growing unease through the course of the day. Syaoran's words in the dream weighed heavily on her mind, and she figured if she did not catch him, perhaps his mother might inform him to call her back.

Li Yelan informed her of the alarming news.

"He's been missing for a day, his cell phone's not on, and his lasin board's not working to find him." Sakura stared at the phone, as if that would give her answers. "What do you think is going on, Kero-chan?"

"What do you mean, 'he's been missing for a day'?"

"I mean he left his home to go to school yesterday morning, didn't show up to class—the school told his mother that he was marked absent for everything. He's always supposed to have his cell phone on, but they've called and couldn't get to him. His mother used the lasin board, and it's like he's nowhere in Hong Kong."

Kero frowned. As much as he might resent the boy, the guardian was still aware of the gravity of the situation. "This isn't right. An eleven-year-old boy disappearing like that does not sound good."

Sakura looked at her desk, where the Sakura book was hidden in one of the drawers. "Kero-chan, do you think I can find Syaoran-kun from here?"

"It would require a great deal of magic to locate him so far away. There's a reason there are special devices for scrying. It won't be very precise either."

"But I'd at least be able to tell where he is in general, and perhaps if he's hurt." _What if Syaoran-kun was kidnapped? _She pulled the drawer out, taking out the book. The cards within were reacting to her distress, and when she opened the cover they fluttered to assemble in front of her, eager to serve. The nameless card in particular, with the winged heart, quivered and shoved the other cards out of alignment to float right in front of her.

"Syaoran-kun." This was the card that materialized when Sakura was coping with Syaoran's departure. She held her hands out to cradle the card as it came close. "I still don't know what you do. Perhaps you can help me find him?"

* * *

"We have a mirror, two…arthritis-preventing balls, goodness these are heavy," Yang Le set them aside, "An abacus, a…hairpin…wait, why weren't we supposed to sell these?"

"Look at this fochen," Yang Liding lifted up the weapon; a whip, with a long wooden handle and horsetail hairs streaming from the tip. It looked fairly innocuous; most non-magical Daoist priests carried one of those, but the second Yang was careful not to swish it as he set that one aside.

"She had arthritis balls, really?" Yang Le was saying. "I kind of understand the hairpins, since she's a girl, but she was what, thirty? What was she carrying one of those for?"

Whatever they were, they were imbued with strong magic, as were all of the Sorceress's possessions.

The two Yangs slipped out of the Cantonese dialect and into the Hunanese dialect, rendering their speech entirely incomprehensible to Syaoran. Which was fine, considering that many of these items were probably powerful, and there was no reason they had to share the specifics with someone who was merely a library study-buddy.

Something Yang Liding said made Yang Le put the therapy balls away very quickly. The older Yang was looking at a scroll. Syaoran could tell that the Sorceress's handwriting was very graceful. She might have been approached to write calligraphic poetry for people to hang on their walls when she had been alive.

"Was the Sorceress ever married?" He asked, recalling the beautiful woman he had seen in the other realm.

"Don't know."

"No," Said Yang Liding, "She was too powerful. She wouldn't suffer any man."

Syaoran thought about Sakura and bit his lip.

"She also carried a lot of baggage," Yang Liding went on, "Because her setpoints tend to be pretty profound. The backlash is more serious."

Syaoran frowned. "I don't understand…how do you measure power?" Someone as powerful as the Sorceress surely would have been able to place setpoints with more ease?

"That's actually a _very _good question from a novice," Said Yang Le, sounding proud for some reason. "Power among Yin sorcerers is measured by the strength of our setpoints and the breadth and length of consequences we can see. Weaker sorcerers can see up to maybe a few months. They tend to set minor setpoints if they set any, since minor confluences aren't as disruptive. You never know though, sometimes fairly innocuous things get in the way of Fate's grand plan, and then things won't go so well for you."

_…What exactly does that mean?_

Something stirred at the edges of Syaoran's senses. Yang Liding and Yang Le both sensed it. The younger Yang uttered something that sounded like a curse. He then said something else, but Syaoran did not understand him.

Yang Le turned to collect Syaoran to his side. "Shouldn't be able to get inside, not with all the protections."

Syaoran was frowning. There was something familiar about this card. It felt like…"That's a Sakura Card."

"…A what?"

"It's one of Sakura's cards." He went to the window, but there was nothing to see. Still, the aura was unmistakable. "This is one of her cards. I don't know what it's doing here…" But even as he said it, he was already forming an idea. He had been gone for a day. His mother probably requested the Card Mistress's help. Odd, that a single card could do what Li Yelan, with all her resources, could not. _I wonder which card it is._

Yang Le muttered something under his breath. "A mere card shouldn't be able to locate you. Not with the spells stuffing up the air here.

Syaoran felt Yang Liding slide out of the realm. He slid back instantly, though he could have spent any amount of time in the spirit realm in between. "Recognize the card? Looks like a floating red heart with wings. Huh. I always thought our symbol for a heart was a recent thing, considering it looks nothing like an actual heart."

_A floating heart with wings?_ Syaoran was so baffled, he could not hide his dumbfounded expression. He recalled no Clow Card that had looked like that. Certainly, some of the Clow Cards had looked fairly ridiculous, but he would have remembered something as absurd as that.

"You want to take a look?" The elder Yang asked.

"Sure…" Maybe Yang Liding was just bad at describing things.

Yang Liding slid into the strange spirit realm with Syaoran. Yang Le chose to remain in the physical realm, and Syaoran took a closer look, recognizing how the remainder of the youngest Yang's timeline played out as if he had lost his two brothers, and also lost Syaoran. There was a difference between Yang Liding's timeline and Yang Heben's, however; the eldest Yang had indeed disappeared completely, even in the past. For Yang Liding, however, the youth's past was intact, all the way up to when he stepped out.

It was more disconcerting to see Yang Le's timeline, though. Earlier that morning, when Syaoran had stepped out, he did notice that Yang Le had been a bit worried, but that time he had only lost Syaoran, not both brothers. This time, he saw various timelines where Yang Le lost his cheerful personality. Now all alone in the world, he shrank away from everyone. A cruel, bitter edge developed. In some timelines, he recovered a little. In other timelines…

"This is what stinks about how this works," Yang Liding turned Syaoran so he would stop looking at his younger brother, "It always looks like we died as soon as we come in here. Eldest use to hate coming in here alone. He'd want all three of us here because whoever is left out there looks like he got abandoned. He'd have to just deal with that sometimes, because our lives are so closely linked together that sometimes we can cheat the blind spot a little and approximate how events would actually go if at least one of us is out there…but it doesn't always work, and it's like getting reminded, repeatedly, of what might happen if any of us died. At least it's all 'what if' and not 'what is'. Le-Le's timeline will right itself once we're back out."

Still very unnerved, it took effort for Syaoran to focus on the task at hand.

The card was outside the house. Since it was close by, if Syaoran walked to the window he could vaguely see where it came from. This was interesting, because it suggested the cards were not just spells or objects—Syaoran could not see the timelines of chairs and tables, only things that were alive. It meant the Sakura Cards were at least sort of alive—though there was still something different about the card's timeline; it was more scant, and only had a past and present, no future. He wondered if this was because it was sentient enough to have memories, but not enough to make decisions.

And it _was_ a winged heart. _Well, I'll be…_

"Seen it before?"

"No. This is not one of the cards I've seen before. I've seen Sakura use all of them at least once. And I know all the cards." He squinted. "But this card definitely bears the same aura."

"Well if we trace back," Yang Liding craned his neck, "Ugh, but I can't really see clearly. It's outside the house. We'd have to unlock the door in the real world if we are to get out. Everything's frozen in time here, it's impossible to budge anything that's not a timeline. And that thing has no future, so we can't guess what it will do either. Huh."

"What if we let it in?"

"Wouldn't recommend it. You don't recognize it, and I certainly have no reason to trust it. Besides, do you really want the Card Mistress involved? We have enough to worry about."

That was a good point. Syaoran swallowed. He dearly wished he had an ally he knew on his side, but perhaps it really was better to keep Sakura out of this.

"Come on, we've been here long enough." Yang Liding patted Syaoran's shoulder and took them both out.

* * *

The storm stretched all the way to when the sun rose. Spinel was pacing as Eriol sat in his seat, eyes half closed. There was a cup of tea next to him, but the liquid had long cooled.

The doorbell rang.

"That him?" Spinel asked.

Kaho turned. "I believe so."

She went to answer the door. Spinel resumed pacing. Eriol opened his eyes more fully, and stood when Kaho returned, another man in tow.

"Mizuki-san," He greeted the man.

"Hiiragizawa," The man snapped, "What have you gotten my sister into?"

Eriol briefly recalled Kinomoto Touya's affection toward anyone who approached his sister. It seemed like something all big brothers had in common. Big brothers who cared about their siblings, anyway. Before dating Kaho, Mizuki Jun was as genial as any acquaintance. Clearly, even the reincarnation of Clow Reed was not good enough for his sister, and he was not afraid to show it.

Eriol approved, despite the exasperation this caused sometimes.

"I doubt your sister is in the midst of anything," Eriol replied, "And as a matter of fact, I'm not entirely sure I am either. I do know that there is something going on, and I have a strong feeling it is to our advantage to know what it is."

Mizuki was taller than his sister, with the same red hair. For a moment, Eriol wondered at the sudden prevalence of gingers in his life. In both lifetimes. _Perhaps one reason gingers are so demonized is because they tend to practice necromancy._ It was as good a theory as any other.

Spinel came forward in his false form. The guardian would have transformed, Eriol felt, just to intimidate their newcomer, but the two have clashed before to no real result. As it was, Spinel, at least, was not impressed by Mizuki's impudence.

"How do we know that _he _is not one of them?" He snapped.

_That is too far._ "Spinel," Eriol warned sharply, and the guardian went silent.

Kaho eyed the guardian sternly. She was far too self-respecting to take her brother's attitude for granted. For all the awkwardness it might have cost her and Eriol, she was not ignorant of the love from which it was borne. Spinel would be paying for that remark later, and Eriol would allow it. _One does not accuse of necromancy lightly._ Spinel really should have known better than that. It was an impulsive comment unworthy of him; Eriol would have expected it from Nakuru, if anyone.

"One of whom?" Mizuki demanded.

"Oni-san," Kaho interrupted, "Do you know if there is something that is stirring in Europe?"

"…Something _stirring_?"

Eriol was the one to reply. "There are sorcerers—" for necromancers were still sorcerers, evil and ambitious though they might be, "Who are getting restless. They might have gone as far as involve necromancy in this."

Mizuki glared at Spinel. "If I start practicing _that_, you'll be the _first _to know."

Eriol suppressed a wince. Mizuki Jun had at least as much intelligence as his sister did. He laid a hand on Spinel's head to dissuade him from responding.

"If people are stirring, it's probably just the necromancers themselves. I've certainly seen nothing suggesting any of the local sorcerers are up to no good. The only mischief recently took place in Japan."

"Hm," Kaho seemed amused, "That 'mischief' is settled, however, and this is something new."

The phone rang.

"I'll get it," Spinel huffed, eager to scamper away.

"Oni-san, we might have almost been attacked at the French airport a couple of hours ago," Kaho told her brother, "It was alarming enough that Eriol and I came straight here using the homebound talismans, instead of risking a flight."

Mizuki frowned. "That seems like something you should ask Louis rather than me."

"Louis doesn't know what is going on," Eriol replied. "He's going to look into it, but if necromancers are involved, we may need to come together if we hope to defeat them. Necromancers have some distinct disadvantages, but a disadvantage to them may not necessarily be an advantage to us."

"Eriol-sama," Spinel came back, phone hanging over his back, "It's Sakura."

Syaoran, the girl told him, had disappeared off the face of the earth.

Worried now, Eriol told her he would look into it, then searched the phonebook for the Li clan's number. Their story coincided with hers.

"What's this about Li Syaoran?" Mizuki asked.

"Li Syaoran was a boy that befriended the new Card Mistress. He had gone back to Hong Kong several months ago," Eriol began searching the drawers, "I am rather fond of that boy. I do not know if this is related, but I feel compelled to find him. I do not wish for harm to befall him." _Where is that talisman? _"He is young. He is only just turned eleven this past July. In Tomoeda, he had lived alone, but I would not trust him by himself in a place like Hong Kong."

"What are you looking for?" Kaho asked.

Eriol stepped back to collect his thoughts. "Spinel, have you or Nakuru taken the talisman?"

"I certainly didn't touch anything in those drawers." Neither did Kaho. When Nakuru was summoned, she voiced a negative as well.

Eriol paused. "Someone stole my transport talisman."

"…How? Who would do that?"

"I don't know," Eriol frowned. "Mizuki-san, I would like to ask a favor of you. See if you cannot find out what is going on lately. Be very careful."

Mizuki was taking his sister by the arm. "What are _you _doing?" He asked.

Eriol turned to Nakuru and Spinel. "I don't like coincidences. There is no such thing. With what has happened, Clow Reed's descendant gone, and my talisman gone just when I intend to use it. I am going to Hong Kong."

"By plane?"

"No." Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun will go with him there. "Kaho, I'd like you to stay with your family for the time-being. I do not know how far this situation extends."

"This involves me whether you like it or not," Kaho protested, "Please Eriol, do not lock me out."

"Kaho, I will never patronize you by keeping you from a battle you must fight," Eriol told her, "But I need an ally to pull me out if I am in the thick of things. If the situation becomes dire, violence has never and will never be your forté. You are neither sword nor shield, you are shelter. You will help me more by preparing that shelter in case I need it."

Kaho frowned. Sometimes people had a hard time accepting their niches, Eriol knew. Sometimes they had a hard time because they underestimated their value. He hoped one day, Kaho might come to recognize hers, but he had little time to convince her of this fact. It would take years.

"What do you intend to do in Hong Kong?" Mizuki asked. "You were attacked at a French airport. Hong Kong is a quarter of the world away."

"We were attacked at an _airport_. A base to launch those who are traveling _out _of France. And these events happening all together…perhaps Li had vanished for a different reason, but as far as I know, his situation is much more of an emergency. You two can investigate what is going on around here, and keep me posted. I have my homebound talisman that I can use to return at any time," Eriol raised it, "But the transport talisman can place us in any location around the globe. The fact that someone wanted it is enough for me to conclude that something is happening in a place far from England indeed. Most of all, my instincts point to the East," He frowned. "Ruby, Spinel, we will go at once."


End file.
